Never Again: A Chuck & Blair Story
by suspensegirl
Summary: Set after the Season 1 Finale. What happened with Chuck and Blair? Did he sleep with Amelia? Did something happen with Blair and Ben? Will Chuck lose what he fought so hard for? Is Ben as innocent as he looks? Is Amelia?
1. Think Before You Act

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. If I did, Amelia would not exist.

Summary: So, what happened to Chuck & Blair after the season finale?! Did Chuck sleep with Amelia? Did anything happen with Blair and Ben? After they're finally together, are the writers trying to screw with our minds?! Well…I am here to investigate one possible outlet to what could've happened….so, sit back, relax and enjoy "Never Again: A Chuck & Blair Story"…taking place directly after the season finale, episode 1. )

………………………………

Ch.1—Think Before You Act

Blair settled into the jump seat, which she had won square and fair in a game of rock, paper, scissors with Ben. It was true, they had been flirting a little bit, but it was harmless really. She could tell he was into her, but half of her flirtatious acts were completely fake, based on the fact that she could not keep her mind off of Chuck Bass, her Romeo who had ditched what would've been the most romantic trip of her life. She sighed. _I wonder what was so important. He couldn't have honestly just needed to wait for his father._ She pulled out her phone again to see if he had sent her anymore texts. Nothing. She sighed again and tried to relax. This would be a long ride and definitely not an enjoyable one.

………………………..

Chuck, heading towards his room with the interior designer, Amelia, was trying to keep his mind focused on anything but Blair. He was going to prove to his father and himself once and for all that he HADN'T changed. He was the same scotch drinking, womanizing, bad boy that everyone knew and loved. Blair Waldorf wasn't going to change anything. Just because he loved her didn't mean…._wait, I love her. _He shook his head as Amelia shut Chuck's bedroom door behind them.

"Now, you really don't wanna know what I was going to do with this room, do you?" Amelia asked, parting her lips slowly.

Chuck looked up and smirked. "Well, that really isn't up to you to decide, now is it?"

She giggled.

Instantly Chuck was taken back to whenever Blair had giggled at his crude comments. _"You're heinous,"_ she had said. But he knew she enjoyed his company, because she would always smile wildly at him after rolling her eyes when passing out of the room.

"Chuck?" Amelia said, drawing his attention to her half pulled off top.

He looked towards her. "Oh yes, of course."

She smiled at let out another giggle.

Again, Chuck was taken back to Blair. _"Is that all I am to you, an accessory?" She smirked, pressing into him as he flipped her over on top of him._

"Are you always this distracted to a beautifully undressing girl as myself?" Amelia asked, fully withdrawing her outfit. As it dropped onto the floor of his bedroom, Chuck was taken back again to that night at Victrola when Blair had performed on stage and caught his eye by unzipping her dress and letting it fall.

Amelia stepped out of the pile of clothing and pranced around him. "You know, I've heard you're the bad boy around here," she said, whispering into his ear.

He smirked, trying desperately hard to get Blair out of his mind. He focused on what his dad had said. "_Responsibility. Someone else's feelings ahead of your own. This summer you will come back a changed man. Mark my words."_ Chuck smiled wider. With these words ingrained in his mind and the fear that lay solidly connected with them, there was no way he was going to avoid sleeping with the scandalous blonde traipsing around him.

"So what can you do with my room, exactly?" Chuck asked.

Amelia, who was getting impatient by his apparent dejavu every two seconds, spread a smile across her face. She had finally gotten his attention. "Oh, I can do many things," she said, wrapping her arms around and leaning in to kiss him.

Chuck was about to do the same, but at Amelia's touch, he was overtaken by every memory with Blair, every ounce of love she had shown and even in his own experience how there had been no one like her, how there would be no one like her and he didn't need to sleep with Amelia to understand this. Blair's heart had been broken enough. He was supposed to be her knight in shining armor, not another Nathaniel Archibald.

Just moments before Amelia's lips touched his, he pushed her away, more forcefully than he probably should have. "No, leave," he said, looking towards the ground and then at her, determined.

She smirked, not buying a minute of it. "Quit teasing me, Bass. I know you want me. I saw it when I walked in the room."

"You're mistaken. And so was I. Now get out before I report you for sexual harassment."

She gasped. "Ugh," she gathered up her clothes, put them on and stomped out the door.

Chuck sighed and shook his head, rubbing his eyes. His head was pounding. Then, he heard footsteps.

"For your information, CHU-UCK, I can do NOTHING with your room," Amelia said, before finally exiting the premises.

Chuck smirked again, then pulled out his phone and texted Blair.

I'm coming. I can't wait to see you.

xoxo. Chuck.

……………………………………….

In the helicopter, Blair had finally fallen asleep. Her phone began to ring, louder and louder with each second. Ben, farther back in the helicopter, had heard the noise and gone to see what it was. He saw Blair sitting in the jumper seat and smiled. He took her phone, which she was gently cradling in her left hand and flipped it open.

"One text message from Chuck Bass," he pondered, "hmmm….we don't need this," he said, and pressed delete, setting the phone into Blair's right hand.

Blair shifted in her seat and her eyes fluttered open. Seeing Ben above her, she asked, "What is it? Is something going on?"

"No, nothing," he said, "Nine and a half more hours till we land," he chuckled.

She smirked. "I thought I heard a noise…was it…?" she opened her phone dramatically, and checked. She sighed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Still no messages," she said sadly.

"Awww…that's too bad," he said, walking back to his seat.

"Yeah," she whispered, "too bad."

……………………………………………….

A/N: Tell me what you think! This will definitely be a multi-chaptered story, so keep reading! I hope you love it!! D


	2. Manipulation

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl.

* * *

Ch.2-Manipulation

Chuck's limo was unusually getting caught in traffic. He had texted Blair five more times and received nothing in return. _Why the heck isn't she picking up?! Did she get really mad that I couldn't come with her to Tuscany? I mean, we've only technically been going out a week…_His phone vibrated. Chuck picked it up instantaneously. New text message from Blair! A smile spread across Chuck's face. When he opened his phone his smile faded…and his face grew to an angry expression as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it…." Chuck muttered. "Driver, can we make this go any faster?"

"Going as fast as I can, Mr. Bass," he called from in front.

"Not fast enough…." he mumbled. He opened the car door and slipped out the side of the limo. Sometimes class just didn't matter.

……………………

"Watcha doing?" Blair asked, twiddling with her hair. A few hours had passed, and she was bored out of her mind. Ben had been pressing buttons on her phone for the last twenty minutes and for some curious reason Blair had been so preoccupied with _nothing_, but missing Chuck and wondering why he hadn't come, that she hadn't minded.

He jumped slightly, as if caught by surprise, then shrugged casually. "Just playing with your phone, he said.

"Oh," she sighed. "Anything from Chuck?" she asked, though deep down she knew the answer. It was the same answer she had gotten every time she had asked just about every five minutes.

"No, sorry," he said smiling sadly at her.

Blair fell back in her chair. "I miss him. I miss him a lot."

Ben turned his face away and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know…" he said sweetly, although the expression on his face was not of the same nature. Thank goodness Blair couldn't see him.

"I miss him more than I ever missed Nate. I miss him more than I would miss shopping if I couldn't do it for a month. I miss him smile. And oh my God, how he kisses! Ah!"

Ben sighed, clearly annoyed with the infatuated teenager.

She sniffled. "Why couldn't he come?" she sighed sadly.

Ben smirked and turned towards her, a wicked smile suddenly showing across his face. "He doesn't know what he's missing," he said softly.

Blair smiled and then turned her eyes back to the window, falling back into her chair. "Maybe…" she sighed again, "but I do."

…………………………………….

"This is an emergency! I have to get the Bass helicopter to land!" he shouted to one of the assistant to the assistant to the assistant of his father's crew on the landing pad.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bass, but they're currently flying across the Atlantic Ocean. They can't just stop."

"You've told me this a million times and for some strange reason you have ignored the fact that I don't care!" Chuck said.

"Mr. Bass, I told you—"

"I know you told me," he grunted a swear and threw his phone to the ground in anger. Luckily, there was only a minor dent on the side. He hadn't really known what he was thinking when he actually got out of his limo and decided to walk to the helipad. It hadn't lasted long, and the sudden ease of traffic cooled the limo driver's nerves. He had never known the young Bass heir to choose walking over the class of him limo.

"My God, I'm gonna kill him." Chuck sighed, picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number. "Yeah, Nate? It's me. We need to talk. There are some serious killings that need to take place. Meet me at my suite, pronto," he paused, guessing Nate's current situation, "oh and tell Serena I said hi," he smirked as he clicked the phone shut.

Chuck glanced back at the man, moving nervously in his presence. Arthur had parked the limo along the curb where his client had suddenly sprung to. Then he had gotten out of the limo and simply waited, shifting his feet a bit and hoping for the best. Chuck sighed, frustrated by the incompetence Bass Industries was giving to _him_, the heir of the company. "Well, can you at least get me a ride to the Palace?" he barked at Arthur.

"Right away sir," he said, phone in hand, dialing as fast as his hands could muster.

Chuck shook his head, sliding back into the limo. "They sure are afraid of us Bass men. Fear," he scoffed, but then his face fell. _Blair._

……………………………………….

Ben's phone went off. He smiled when he saw the name.

"Is that my phone or yours?" Blair asked, nearly hopping out of her seat.

He looked at her sweetly with a sad smile once again, "Mine sorry," he said.

She sighed, flipping around in her chair. "It's fine."

"I'm actually going to go take this in back, if that's alright," he said.

"Oh sure," Blair said nonchalantly.

He walked casually to the back and sneaked into the bathroom. "Did everything go as planned?" he said smiling, and then his grin faded. "What are you—" he nearly shouted, then lowered his voice to almost a whisper, "what are you talking about?" he sighed and waited. "Well, get him back. I've deleted his messages near a hundred times and set him a bit of a threat to get the ball rolling, the rest is up to you. I can't tear her away from him until she knows for sure how much of a betrayal he has caused her." Another pause. "Well, figure something out. Be that blonde beauty I know you can be. Don't let him forget you and whatever happens, he must NOT leave the city." He waited. Then, a smile graced his features. "Good, talk to you soon. Bye."

He came waltzing out of the bathroom.

"Who was that?" Blair asked inquisitively. "I heard you shouting," she scrunched her nose.

He chuckled. "Oh, just my sister. She's pregnant again. I kind of freaked out. This is number seven," he said.

"Wow," Blair turned around intrigued. "How old is she?"

"About thirty two," he said, "and she's like insanely involved with the fashion corporation too."

"Oh?" Blair said, awed by this information. "Tell me more."

He laughed. "I don't mind if I do…"

She had bought into his transparent lie without a second thought, and he couldn't have been more pleased with the progress he was making. It was almost sunset now, and he was insistent on having this girl brainwashed before she even guessed the switch in destination by the following morning.

* * *

A/N: Hey all! Let me know what you think! Pleeeeeeeease comment! I love that you all favorite the story and put it on your alert list, but I would loooove even more if you commented. Thanks again for reading and as you might have noticed, there will be a touch of Nate/Serena action in here, if not more. Keep reading! I hope you love it. ;p


	3. Involving Archibald

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl.

A/N: I realize maybe some of you are disappointed at the short chapters and I guess the reason for that is at the end of a lot of my scenes, I feel like there are great cliffhangers and I really wanna end on a good cliffhanger, so I don't always keep going, but I am going to try extra hard to make this chapter and the chapters following extra long, longer than the chapters prior. I hope you all are enjoying this story, and as always…MAKE SURE TO REVIEW!!

………………..

Ch.3-Involving Archibald

Inside his suite at _The Palace_, Chuck was pacing back and forth. This was so not like him. To be worried about such trivial matters, even as a threat. If he wasn't careful soon Gossip Girl would get wind of this whole situation and probably announce something untrue to get Blair's temper all riled up. Then there was no way he could save her, I mean there was. There's always a way with Chuck Bass. But every time Chuck lost Blair by some means or another, it was getting harder to get her back. I mean, after all…how many chances could she take on Chuck? He was the notorious womanizer of the UES, and that fact was hard to forget.

He shook his head and paced some more, when there was knock at the door. _Finally._ Chuck peered out of the whole at eye level on his door. Seeing who it was, he opened the door.

"I came as soon as I got the message," Nate said, letting himself in and sitting, hands on knees, on the stool by the bar.

Chuck smirked as he slowly shut the door and spun around. "As soon as you got the message? It's almost nine o' clock." Slight anger had seeped into his voice, but he was hoping his best friend wouldn't pick up on it. He didn't need to waste another twenty minutes trying to explain feelings in the mind of Chuck Bass to Nate Archibald.

Nate let out a quiet laugh as his face turned red, clearly bowing to Chuck's wishes subconsciously. He resolved himself and cleared his throat all the time while looking at the floor. Then, he looked up at Chuck whose shocking expression showed him he wasn't buying any of it. "What are you talking about?"

Chuck shook his head and walked across the room a few feet beyond where Nate was sitting. "N—Never mind," he laughed, letting Nate's obliviousness and clarity on why he had been late distract his worry. "I asked you here for a reason and we'll just," he turned to look at Nate again, who was trying to hide the guilt expression written all over his face, "focus on that," he said.

Nate gulped. "So…"

Chuck walked over the couch and picked up his phone. Fingering his way through the messages, he found the most recent one and sighed.

"What is it?" Nate asked, obviously forgetting about his prior blushing face. He leaned forward with concern toward his normally confident friend. Chuck's face fell.

**Guess you'd better get back to that blonde. As far as I'm concerned, Blair is mine.**

Nate's face shown with confusion. "What does this mean?" he asked, staring down at the anonymous text message Chuck had gotten.

The brunette shook his head. "I don't know. There were at least five to ten men that were supposed to go on that helicopter, that are part of my dad's team. It could be any one of them." He paused. "I don't know who else it could be."

Nate sighed when realization hit him. "Wait, _what_ blonde? And why aren't you on that helicopter with Blair? I must've spaced out. I don't know why I didn't ask sooner. You should be on your way to Tuscany!"

Chuck looked away and toward the window. This was one conversation he wasn't about to enjoy.

"If you did something to her, so help me Chuck!" Nate said, rising from his seat.

Chuck shoved him down. "So help you _what?"_ he asked, his eyebrows furrowing almost in anger. "You've done way worse things to her than I have, so don't even start with me."

Nate cracked his neck and settled down on the stool. Chuck turned to walk to the window. "Unless we both cheated on her," Nate whispered.

Chuck turned to him, angry. "What are you suggesting Archibald?"

Nate looked up. "I think you know."

Chuck pursed his lips. "Well, I think you're taking this too far."

Nate stood up. "Tell me how far I should go, Chuck."

Chuck opened his mouth to speak when there was a knock at the door. They both looked toward the door. The knock came again a few moments later and again a few moments after that. "Come on, open up, Chuck," a woman's voice said. Chuck closed him eyes in grief.

"Who is that?" Nate whispered.

"Oh, you have company do you?" the woman's voice said.

They were both silent. Then, a key was heard turning the lock. Chuck watched it in bewilderment. The door opened and the woman closed it behind her after walking in. She leaned against the door frame, a single rose in her hand. "Long time no see."

………………………………………..

"Uh…." Blair held up her hand, yawning but it didn't seem to faze Ben. He had been babbling on and on about his sister and the rest of his family and all his hopes and dreams. True, Blair had been interested in the beginning when he had been talking about fashion and such things. However, time had passed and she was bored. She couldn't get why he kept playing with her phone and she didn't want to be rude to a stranger but she had to interject. She cleared her throat very lightly, still holding up her hand.

"Oh sorry, all this time must've gotten away from me," Ben said laughing.

Blair fake laughed with him. She couldn't understand how he was still so alert. Sure, she didn't usually get so tired either, but they had been sitting in a helicopter for over five hours and doing practically nothing. It surprised her that they hadn't landed and taken off on the Bass Jet to Tuscany by now, but she decided not to bother with that small detail of information. _There was probably a legitimate reason_.

"Right, so can I have my phone back now?" she asked.

"Oh right," he said, handing the phone to her.

Blair checked it. "Oh, a new message from _Gossip Girl_!"

Well, hello Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here. It seems that Queen B and C haven't gone on their romantic getaway after all. In fact, C seems to be quite preoccupied by a certain interior designer stopping by his place wherever he goes. Maybe old ways aren't so easy to change. Sorry B, it seems you had to learn the hard away—again.

A picture of Amelia, the interior designer was posted, with Chuck by her side offering her a rose. In the corner a bouquet of roses was seen in the trash can. Blair came to tears. "I knew it! I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"What's the matter?" Ben said, leaning in.

"Ch-Chuck's cheating on me," she said, barely above a whisper.

"With who?" he asked.

"Ugh. Some interior designer. God, I should've known better than to fall for him!"

"I'm so sorry," he said, leaning in to cup her hand with his own.

Blair looked at his hand, minorly uncomfortable. "It's okay. You had nothing to do with it," she sighed, falling back into her chair as Ben relaxed into his. He smirked. Blair wiped off her hands. Regardless of the man's sympathy, his hands were simply not clean.

More tears kept going. _How could he do this to me? After everything we've been through? _She texted Serena.

What is going on, Serena? I just got Gossip Girl's post. Is Chuck really cheating on me?

-B

…………………………………

Serena was walking casually through Central Park, when her phone beeped. First the message from Gossip Girl which nearly made her fall over in shock and then the text from Blair. Instead of texting Blair back, she made another call—a call she knew she could find answers to.

The phone rang countless times to no answer. Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

"Is Nate there?" Serena asked.

The woman on the other line smiled. "Hold on," she said.

Serena waited for what seemed like forever. "Hey," a wincing Nate squeaked out.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Uh….it's a little complicated," he said.

"Where's Chuck? Blair is freaking out. She just texted me," she said.

"Where are you?" Nate asked.

"Home, why?" she asked.

"I'm gonna meet you in five," he said.

"Okay…" she said, unsure and very confused.

"Bye." The phone clicked.

"That was weird," she said.

She opened her phone and texted Blair.

I have no idea what's going on, B. But I just talked to Nate and he's gonna meet me and most likely fill me in. Something strange is definitely going on and I will let you know as soon as I can.

-S

…………………………………

Blair sighed after just receiving the text from Serena.

"What is it?" Ben asked. "More bad news?"

Blair looked up at him with great suspicion. He was just way too interested in every little thing she was doing.

"No, my battery's just dying," she lied, slipping her phone in her pocket.

"Oh, maybe I can fix it," he offered.

"No, it's okay. I think I need to stay off it for awhile anyways," she said, turning towards the window. She was so confused and part of her was really scared. She felt so betrayed by Chuck, but the certain passenger across from her was making her feel very uneasy and maybe Chuck wasn't all to blame.

…………………………...

Back in Chuck's suite, Amelia was making herself comfortable, drinking a scotch on the couch and forcing more than a few onto Chuck. Chuck had tried to get her to leave multiple times but she wasn't taking no for an answer. She also threatened to make Gossip Girl aware of their almost encounter by forgetting to mention the "almost" if Chuck left. Never had Chuck felt so out of control. Blair was someone he truly cared about. Amelia, of course, was open to sleeping with either Chuck or Nate but neither of them were going to let that happen.

"And how do you know Gossip Girl will even believe you?" Chuck asked.

Amelia giggled. "Gossip Girl believes everything that comes to her, especially if there's a picture involved and I have connections, Mr. Bass."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about? What connections?"

Nate shifted awkwardly in his seat.

They both turned towards him and then back to each other. Amelia smiled coyly. "Just because Georgina is sent away to reform school doesn't mean her revenge goes unnoticed. Blair ruined her. Did you not honestly think she would let that slide?"

Chuck stared at her. "I've had enough of this," he said, stumbling to the door.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," she said. "I carry sleeping pills with me regularly." An instant later Chuck fell to the ground unconscious. Nate stared at his now unconscious best friend on the floor in shock. He had hardly noticed earlier when the brunette poured himself a glass of scotch earlier. He should have known the twisted blonde would have slipped something in.

As testy as this situation was and as worried for his best friend as he was, Nate knew this was his moment to escape and speak with Serena. As Amelia dragged Chuck's unconscious body over to the bed and smiled wickedly, placing a wet kiss on his still lips, Nate snuck out the door. By the time, Amelia heard the door shut and Nate's body vanish from the room, she made a pouty lip. She sighed. "Oh well, let him tell people what I'm doing. It's not like they'll believe him. Georgina is one cousin I am not letting down," she smiled devilishly and unbuttoned Chuck's three top buttons while placing her hand down his shirt. She snapped a photo on her phone and forwarded it. "Gossip Girl…." She paused, snickering, "You're welcome."

* * *

A/N: I HOPE YOU ALL LOVED THIS!! I tried really hard to make it longer so I hope you appreciated the length, and I expect LOTS of reviews from this. Stay tuned…


	4. Always Watching

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl.

A/N: Hey all, sorry it's taken me so long to give you an update…but I've been super busy and I was actually considering abandoning the story….but thanks to some lovely people on here and my friends in general, not to mention your amazing reviews, I have decided to continue the story. I hope you all enjoy it! D

……………………………………………

Ch. 4—Always Watching

_That was probably about the stupidest mistake I could've done!_ Nate thought, slamming his fist on the elevator walls of the Palace Hotel. _That, and sleeping with Serena when I was still going out with Blair. _He sighed and shook his head. There were more important things to think about at the moment. _Ding!_ The bell to signify the elevator resting on lobby level had rung. Nate straightened his jacket as the doors opened and in walked a familiar face. "Serena?" he asked.

"I figured you were here," she said. "And I'm guessing the problem is upstairs in Chuck's suite?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, how did you—"

"Let's just say I put two and two together," she said.

He still looked confused but figured now probably wasn't the best time to be questioning her about how she knew so much. Besides, she was looking nervous and he could only stay in his state of denial for so long. Chuck needed them…and so did Blair. Nate suddenly felt a tug on his hand. He looked down and Serena's hand was clinging to his own. There was no time to wonder if this meant something romantically. He simply assumed that it was because of her reckless nerves. He probably would've done something similar if, well…there was no time to worry about the 'ifs'. _Ding!_ They were back on the top floor again. Nate walked firmly out of the elevator with determination, pulling Serena along with him. His grip tightened.

Chuck's suite door was cracked open a little bit. "Hmm, that's odd. I would've thought she was going to lock it," Nate said. He opened the door to reveal a nearly stripped Amelia attempting to straddle the now unclothed and unconscious Chuck on the bed.

"Oh God!" Serena said, turning away.

Amelia climbed off of Chuck and pulled up her dress, zipping up the back. She walked towards the two visitors. "It looks like we have company," she said. "Scotch, anyone?" she asked, lifting up a tray of scotch-filled glasses from the bar. Serena looked her up and down and was completely disgusted. Amelia turned to her. "Serena," she said, enthused. "Georgina tells me you love these."

Serena's mouth dropped and then her mouth curled angrily. She turned to Nate. "Something you want to tell me?" she asked.

Nate laughed nervously and then turned to Amelia who was smiling wickedly. He cleared his throat. "Amelia, this is the last time I'm going to ask you, get out." He couldn't remember when he had caught the girl's name, because Chuck surely hadn't remembered it, at least not intially. It didn't matter now. The _woman_ was becoming much more than a _slight annoyance_.

Amelia just looked at him and smirked. "I'm going for a walk," she said, picking up her purse and strutting past them. Nate and Serena were as still as they had ever been. Amelia stopped halfway through the door and then turned to look at them. "Nathaniel," she said, "Don't go too far. I have some shopping to do but I have taken plenty of blackmailing pictures of our dear Chuck Bass and we would simply hate for those to be deposited to Blair via Gossip Girl, no wouldn't we?" she smirked and shut the door behind her on her way out.

As soon as she was gone, Nate ran over to cover Chuck's naked body with one of the sheets. "From what I could tell, they hadn't done anything yet. I wasn't out of the room more than a couple minutes."

"Oh God," Serena said again, pacing throughout the room. She stumbled across Amelia's sleeping pills. She picked up the bottle. "These last 4-6 hours," she said.

"Hmmm….I was hoping they lasted longer," Nate said sarcastically. For a moment, the two smiled at each other.

"What is Blair gonna do? Or think?" Serena asked, panicked. She brushed a few fingers through her hair and settled onto a stool by the bar. She twisted the sleeping pills bottle in her hand until she found the directions. "I wonder if there's anything on here that can…"

"Wake him up?" Nate asked.

"Yeah," Serena nodded.

"I doubt it," he sighed. "But I think we're going to have to get out of here."

"What?" she asked. "That girl clearly said not to!" she said, pointing in the way Amelia had gone. "And what was that about Georgina? Does she know here? Do I know her? What is going on here?" Serena asked, frantic.

Nate came over to her and put both hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be all right. We'll figure this out."

Serena nodded.

"The sooner we get Chuck out of here, the sooner we can get a plan in motion. If she blackmails Chuck, she blackmails him. We'll just have to explain to Blair later that none of it is true," Nate said.

She sighed. "Okay, yeah…you're right."

He smiled. "Of course I am. Now I'm just going to dress him and then we can be on our way."

"Okay," she said. She looked away momentarily. "Oh and Nate," she said, turning back. "Oh God!" she looked away. Nate had brought back the covers again.

"Sorry," he laughed.

"It's okay, I'll tell you later," she smirked, facing away for the duration of the dressing.

Moments later the door opened. Serena looked both ways to make sure that Amelia wasn't still lingering in the hallway. Then, Nate dragged a poorly dressed Chuck into the hallway. "Man, he's heavy," Nate grunted.

Serena looked at him sympathetically. "You know, you didn't dress him that well," she commented.

Nate glared at her and then with a chuckle said, "It's kind of hard when he doesn't move."

Serena said, "Oh yes, I bet." They continued to the elevator and called for a taxi, a limo would be suspicious—people would know something was up.

Just outside the lobby, a figure in the shadows moved shakily in the trees and moved a phone up to their ear. "They took the bait. Yep, I got them right outside the lobby here. Okay, I'll let you know what I have more." The phone clicked shut, and the figure moved inside the hotel.

* * *

Blair woke up to the blinding white light of the sun creeping through the windows of the helicopter. She pulled out her phone and checked for messages from Serena. Nothing. _What did it all mean? Was this a set up? And why were Serena and Nate so close all of a sudden?_ None of it made sense and it was giving Blair a migraine. She sighed. Just then her _Gossip Girl_ ringtone went off. She flipped ithe phone open as her jaw dropped solid.

Hey Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here. Looks like Chuck has been caught red handed with that beautiful blonde's arm down his shirt. Is this for real I'm sure you're wondering, B? Then again, since when has Chuck Bass had a problem with a girl touching him? Thanks Melsie25 for the pic. Now, we have proof. 

Blair gagged as the disturbing photo was revealed. "This has got to be fake," she said.

"What?" Ben asked, groggily rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing," she said, turning away. _That guy is way too interested in me. I feel, I need to get off this helicopter. _She turned toward the pilot. "Is there any way we can get this helicopter turned around?"

"Why?" Ben stood up, suddenly very alert again.

Blair looked at him in ignorance and turned back towards the cockpit. The supposed pilot had been sitting steadily in the same position and had never spoken a word. "Sir, sir!" she called to him

Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, behind the seating. "What are you doing?" she shrieked, slapping him.

"Oh, feisty aren't ya?" he grinned.

Blair wiggled her arm away in a quick snap. "What are you doing? And who are you really?"

"Wouldn't you love to know?" his eyes tinted darkly, and she swallowed hard.

Blair glared at him momentarily and then ran back up the pilot. She spun him around and was mortified by what she saw. A manikin. "How are we flying this plane?" she asked, horrified and very confused.

"It's on automatic to your precious Tuscany," Ben said, straightening his jacket. He walked towards her. "But I thought we could stop and see my sister on the way there."

Blair gulped and turned around. "Your sister?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "How do you feel about reformed schools?"

………………………………………


	5. Out in the Open

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl

A/N: Hey all, sorry about the delay but I was crazy busy this week. I am trying to make these chapters longer as so many of you insist, but please do not complain about it anymore or I will delay the chapters even more and I'm sure you don't want that. I don't mean to be mean, but I really don't appreciate, since I go through a lot to get these chapters together, these simple complaints about the length…some will be short and some will be long, but I'm sure they're better then none at all. Oh, and for those of you who were confused at Serena's frantic behavior in Chuck's suite…when she said "do I know her?" she was referring to Amelia, not Georgina, because obviously she knows Georgina. ;) I hope you enjoy the chapter and please pleeeeeease review! )

…………………………………………………

Ch. 5—Out in the Open

Blair just stood there in shock. Very much awake now, as well. Everything seemed so far away from her now. Serena. Chuck. Her parents. Safety. Now Blair was hardly ever afraid of anything and if she was, she didn't let it show, but she couldn't move, she could hardly think and there Ben stood in front of her like some smitten little puppy. _Did he honestly think he could get away with something like this?_ She turned away and took her phone out of her pocket.

_No Service_.

_Great. This is the time my phone decides to bail on me. _

Ben walked back to his seat. He took a magazine from his bag and began to read, flipping pages occasionally and looking amused. Blair sighed and sat back in her seat as well. _There's gotta be a way out of this…_

* * *

Several hours later in a Hilton hotel across town, Serena sat with a washcloth dropped over Chuck's forehead. She had never thought much of this womanizing jerk, but since he had gotten involved with Blair he had seemed to change. He even was eager to help her during her drama with Georgina. "Maybe he has changed…" she whispered, looking thoughtfully at his closed eyes.

Then, she felt something rubbing up her crossed legs. She looked down and slapped whatever it was, getting up immediately from her position on the bed. Chuck's eyebrows furrowed and a quirky grin appeared on his face. "Now sis, you needn't be so feisty," he said, opening one eye to see her angry face.

"Ugh," she said. "Then again, maybe you haven't!" she said, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

Nate turned from his position looking out the window. "Sometimes you're a little much," he said.

Chuck sat up and shrugged. "It comes with the territory, Nathaniel."

Nate nodded and forced a chuckle. "It's good you're awake," he said, crossing the room in the direction of the door.

"Yeah," he began, trying to blink some sort of energy into his system. "What time is it?" he asked, yawning.

Nate paused and turned around. "Ten A.M."

He nodded.

"So, are you going to tell me about this Amelia character?"

"Yeah…biggest mistake of my life," Chuck scoffed, unfolding the covers and climbing out of the bed.

"Whoa whoa… 'biggest _mistake_'??" Nate's eyes narrowed. "You didn't do anything with her, did you?"

Chuck sighed, annoyed at his friend's assumptions.

"I mean, I'm definitely not interested in Blair anymore. But you told me you loved her. Isn't this a little pathetic if you can only last a week without screwing some other random girl and sinking back to your old habits?"

Chuck cleared his throat. "Yes," he said, crossing the room and grabbing his scarf. "Which is exactly why I didn't do it," he threw the scarf in Nate's face and took it back, placing it around his own neck.

Nate looked at him in confusion but couldn't help but smile. By this time, Chuck has settled himself in a comforting chair across the room. "So…uh?" he waved his hand around with the tip of his scarf.

This time it was Nate's turn to clear his throat. "Ah…yes, what do you remember?"

"That freak of a woman coming in and not leaving…" Chuck grunted.

"Yeah…" Nate said, "well, she wouldn't leave and she drugged you with sleeping pills….stripped you and Serena and I found you just before she uh…"

Chuck raised his eyebrows. "Spit it out, man…what did she almost do?"

"Rape you," Nate said. A laugh slipped out.

Chuck laughed even louder. "Oh Nathaniel, that is classic! Women don't rape me…if anything, I rape _them_."

"Yeah," Nate cleared his throat again.

"But I'm glad you stopped her," Chuck said, getting up again. "She is the dirtiest filth next to Georgina and we must get her unacquainted with my dear new stepmother."

"So, I'm guessing you didn't sleep with her then?" Nate asked.

Chuck just stared, in complete disbelief that after these last few moments, his best friend had even dared to ask that question. "No, absolutely not."

Nate nodded. "Good."

"But…" there was an uneasy silence hanging.

"What?" Nate asked.

"I almost did."

Nate looked at him in shock, but before he could respond Chuck turned away from him and began pacing, preparing his case. "My father gave me this ridiculous rant on how I'm changing and how this summer I'm going to learn about responsibility and faithfulness and caring about others and the last thing I wanted to have happen was for him to be right. As much as I respect him," he said, gesturing towards Nate.

"Well," Nate sighed, "I'm sure it was a lot to handle in the moment, but did you actually consider cheating on Blair? I mean, I saw how you looked at her…anything short of faithfulness didn't even seem possible."

"It wasn't about being faithful at that moment. It was about proving my father wrong. I wasn't even thinking about her," he sighed. "In fact, I had just gotten a text from her saying how excited she was to see me and then this Amelia girl walked in. I slid the phone in my pocket and I literally just planned to seduce this girl."

"Chuck, I…" he began.

He held up his hand. "Let me finish."

Nate pursed his lips.

"Bart and Lily left to go who knows where and Amelia fell right into the trap. We headed to my bedroom and I was totally in sex mode," he said, excitedly, "but everything she said or did reminded me of Blair. I couldn't get her out of my head, and before Amelia even laid those supple lips upon me…I sent her out. I knew I didn't want her. I had never wanted her. I had just….wanted to be right, by making my father wrong," he sighed and looked up at Nate.

"I get it," he said.

Chuck smiled.

"But Blair won't…"

Chuck sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"At first," Nate smiled.

Chuck smiled too. "Of course. That would be unlike a Waldorf to give in all at once."

Nate laughed. "You do know her very well."

"Naturally! I had to be doing something while you were flaunting around Serena all those years."

Nate sighed and shook his head.

"How _did_ Serena get into this?"

Nate looked at him. "Well, I was kinda at the end of my rope and you know us four, we're the non-judging breakfast club. Since Blair was on her way to Tuscany…" Nate looked dauntingly at Chuck at the mention of where he should be at the moment, "and _Gossip Girl_ has no doubt been sending out the scandalous pictures Amelia took with you in your unconscious status…Serena was freaking cause Blair was freaking, with good reason I'm sure but we are the non-judging breakfast club, so uh…"

"Ah yes, that famous line Blair used during Serena's drama. I have come to like it," Chuck smiled.

Just then, the bathroom door popped open and a disheveled Serena stumbled out.

"Are you okay?" Nate asked.

"Yep. I'm just great," she said, falling onto the space of floor between them.

The two boys looked at each other, worried. Nate went over and felt Serena's head. "You're burning up, Serena!" he said.

Chuck's face had anger written all over it. He knew this was no accident, and the empty pill bottle he spotted in the bathroom sink confirmed his suspicions. "Serena, did you take anything while you were in here?" he asked, from inside the bathroom.

She muttered something, but neither boys could understand.

Chuck went over the bottle half a dozen times but could not discover its identity. He came out of the room confused to Serena in Nate's arms. "This looks oddly familiar," he said. His phone rang. "Chuck Bass." His face grew angrier. "Thank-you," was all he could muster after the long moments. He clicked his phone shut. "We have to get to Tuscany."

"What?" Nate asked. "I mean, I know you feel bad about—"

Chuck waved his hand. "No, it's not about that. One of the guys that was aboard that helicopter…Ben something or other…well, he's in charge of the plane. There's no pilot and I don't know what's happened to the other business co-workers, but it's just him and Blair and…"

"What, Chuck?" he asked.

Serena muttered some more, but Nate shushed her and laid her on the bed gently.

"He won't let her go," he paused, realizing his words maybe didn't make sense. "He's not taking her to Tuscany. He's holding her captive. He's disconnected her phone service, taken over the plane," he sighed, aggravated, "and he's working side by side with…"

"With who?" Nate asked, crossing his arms.

"Someone…I'm not sure yet, but I think they're watching us."

* * *

A/N: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed it!! Pleeeeeeeeeeease comment! ) I know it was mostly dialogue between Nate & Chuck, but there will be much more to come…more with Blair and all of them. Hope it wasn't too short for you. Thank-you for all your support and reviews towards this story. It's must appreciated. I am leaving on vacation next week for about 10 days….so I probably wouldn't expect any new chapters until August. I will try to write another one this week, but don't get your hopes up. I have made another C/B one-shot, which you should all check out and please comment on! I will make it a multi-chaptered story if you all really like it, and I kinda want to…just make sure to comment and I will! It's based mainly on season 2 spoilers, so if you don't wanna know about those, obviously don't read it, but I hope you do! It should be good. It's kinda going the opposite direction of this story…where he did sleep with Amelia and yeah, just his frustrations with that…b/c he can't really perform with any girl or function that well b/c as much as he tries to be the Chuck Bass he was before….he can't cause he's in love with Blair and even his body knows that! HAHA! So I hope you check it out. Hopefully I'll have a new chapter for this one soon. Thanks again for reading! Love ya!


	6. Changes for Better and Worse

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gossip Girl.

A/N: Hey all, sorry it's taking me SO long to update this story…I've been crazy busy moving into college and all. But I have put a bunch of CB one-shots on here, so you should all check those out and review! I will try to update this story more often than not, but obviously no guarantees. ;p

…………………..

Ch.6—Changes for Better and Worse

It had been a couple hours and Blair was getting sick of sitting around. She didn't dare to ask what time they were going to get there. Too much had happened already. She looked back to Ben who was still flipping through that magazine, which she swore only had about twenty pages. Her mind could only fathom so much how someone could look at those few pages for two hours. She cleared her throat nonchalantly and he looked up.

"Yes?" he asked.

"By any chance are you going to be through with that magazine any time soon?"

He smirked. "I was finished hours ago," he snickered and looked back down at it.

Blair turned to face the front of the plane. She was both scared out of her mind and completely disturbed by his lack of good lines. She looked around to see if there was some way of getting out. Nothing. Not that she was planning on jumping off the helicopter into the Atlantic Ocean, but any possibility seemed plausible at this point. She unbuckled her seat belt and went to the back of the helicopter where the bathroom was located. She could feel Ben's gaze on her the whole way back, and straightened her dress in an effort to distract herself, or perhaps just to give him a reason to look on, that way it wouldn't have been as directly scary.

She shut the door behind her, once she made it to the restroom and clicked the door locked. She stared at herself in the mirror for what seemed like ages. She got lost in her own gaze and didn't even notice when the tears started falling down her face. She couldn't go back out there now. Goodness knows what he'd do if he saw her dampened skin. She wiped them away, but it didn't stop the redness from escaping her eyes.

Unlike most helicopter bathrooms, this one had a tiny window near the top of the far wall. She climbed on top of the toilet (completely unlike her nature), she would've padded the seat down with toilet paper first, but that didn't even look too sanitary, and she had heels on. She gasped at what she saw. They weren't over water anymore. In fact, they hadn't been for some time. It was yet another confusing thing to think about, especially since Tuscany could've only been an hour in from the shore. The water would've still been visible, but Blair couldn't see any. True, Ben had lied about many things, but she thought when he spoke of going to Georgina's reformed school…Blair gagged at the thought, he had mentioned that it would be a stop before Tuscany, not after. She sighed, leaning against the window frame. Though the possibility of any hope should've been far lost by now, Blair refused to give up. She pulled the cell phone out of her pocket and cleverly remembered her back up system. Luckily for her, the bathroom air conditioning went on extra loud whenever someone was in there. Blair activated her back up phone system with the click of a button.

"I can't believe I didn't think about this before," she chuckled to herself. Her face was drying fast. She flew down her contact list till she got to Chuck. Somehow the possibility of him cheating just didn't seem plausible to her anymore. And he knew her better than anybody. If anyone would be saving her, or understanding her situation from the outside, she knew it would be him.

She clicked her phone shut after sending the message and then put her phone on silent. When the phones were out of service, cell games could still be played. This way she could pretend to be playing those games and yet always be checking for a reply from Chuck. Her plan was perfect. She unlocked the door and stepped out with a new confidence. It was time for war.

……………………………………..

"What do you mean _they're watching us_?" Nate questioned.

"Listen," Chuck put a finger to his lip. Serena had grown nearly unconscious and her breathing had become quicker and louder. An irritated look went across Chuck's face. He put a hand over her mouth.

"Chuck!" Nate whispered harshly, attempting to take it away.

"Shh!" Chuck said, but Nate looked too concerned. "She can still breathe through her nose, relax."

Nate sighed and tuned in his ears. After some brief moments, they could both hear a quite noise beeping. Chuck stepped closer to the window, where it seemed more direct. Nate walked after him, but wasn't as sly, causing the looming figure to sneak away before it could be seen.

Chuck sighed. "Great! You scared her away."

Nate rolled his eyes and laid Serena down on the couch a few feet away. "How do you know it's a _she_?"

He scoffed. "Please, I know."

Nate shook his head. "So, what do we do now?"

"You, my friend, are going to take Serena to a hospital. Tell the doctors that she took an overdose of something, but we don't know what and then stay there with her till I contact you."

Nate nodded, looking across at Serena, helpless on the furniture.

Chuck's phone buzzed. "Uh, I gotta go," he said, in desperation, after looking at the message.

"What is it?" Nate asked.

"I'll tell you later, I just really…" he remained distracted by his phone.

"Chuck?"

He looked up. "Take her to the hospital."

The door slammed behind him and Serena twitched in her unconscious state. Nate looked on at her and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Hello, yes, this is Nate Archibald and I need a limo pick up at the Hilton Hotel on 24th and Boulevard as soon as possible," he paused, "this is an emergency, please don't delay. Thank-you." He clicked the phone shut and sat against the side of the couch.

Suddenly Serena rose up from her lying position, gasping for air. Immediately Nate got up and cradled her head in his hands. "Serena? Serena, what is it?!"

"Georgina!" she shrieked, horror written all over her face. Then her eyes rolled back and she fell into the couch, completely still.

…………………………

Chuck was walking unusually fast, heading for the Van der Bass home. He knew it was dangerous to go back there, but he also knew his father would be there and would know what to do, because honestly he had so much information and not the slightest idea what to do with it all. His heart was beating too fast, but he knew he'd have to try and ignore it if he was going to get to _The Palace_ and somehow rescue Blair.

_He stopped short, as a smile spread across his face. He turned to look at his normal limo driver who was astride a beautifully crafted black motorcycle. "Mr. Bass? I believe your ride is ready." He climbed off of the vehicle and gestured for Chuck to climb on, which he did. He handed him the helmet, which Chuck refused. He slid on his sunglasses. "No thanks," he smirked. "I've got a girl to save and I don't plan on using that to help me." He sped off into the distance, weaving in between vehicles. The driver just looked on, coughing up the dust left behind. "Crazy kid…"_

Chuck snapped out of his facade, blaming it on the remaining effects of the sleeping pills. He sighed, picking up his phone and hoping his driver was nearby. Before the man even answered the phone, Chuck spotted the long sleek vehicle turning at the corner. Eagerly he stepped forward and climbed inside.

…………………………………

A/N: WHAT DO YOU THINK??


	7. What goes Around

A/N: I OWN NOTHING!!

…………..

**Ch.7—What Goes Around**

The limo halted at _The Palace_, and Chuck was astonished to see the Van der Bass suite looking completely abandoned once he stepped inside. He went inside and rummaged through his room and some of his belongings, everything seemed to have been misplaced or moved to a different location.

"Charles," he heard his father's voice coming into the room he was currently in.

"What's going on?" Chuck asked, turning towards him. "Where's Lily? Eric?"

Bart sighed. "I believe there is someone trying to take over my company."

He looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about? Who would even try to do that? It's unthinkable."

"I believe it has something to do with your recent treachery concerning a Georgina Sparks?"

Chuck's eyes widened. "What about her?" he growled.

"Well…." Bart paced the room. "It seems as though Ms. Waldorf had her sent off to a reform school for her illegal acts as of late?"

Chuck nodded. "Yeah."

"Georgina has more connections, more capability for evil than I ever imagined."

Chuck sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. "What do you mean?"

"Lily and Eric have been kidnapped and I'm guessing from your dazed features, so has Blair?"

Chuck sat down on the ripped up couch in the living room, feeling completely overwhelmed.

"I've also done some research," Bart said, following his son throughout the apartment, "the employee Ben who accompanied Blair on the helicopter is the brother to Miss Sparks…"

Chuck turned around in a panic.

"…and he is," Bart gulped, "taking Blair to her."

"We've got to do something!" Chuck jumped up.

Bart put up a hand to silence him. "Already one step ahead of you." He held out a hand to gesture as Amelia walked into the room.

"Hello Charles," she said flirtatingly.

Chuck rolled his eyes.

Bart looked between the two of them. "Do you two know each other? I mean, better than I thought?"

Amelia walked forward and slid her hand along the front of Chuck's shirt. "Oh, we know each other VERY well," she winked at him.

Mr. Bass looked at his son. "I thought you were past all this, son."

Chuck scoffed. "I am," he fiercely removed Amelia's hand and pulled his father aside. "We can't trust her," he whispered.

Bart looked at him in disbelief. "No, apparently the one we can't be trusting is you."

Chuck looked at him in shock. "What?" Just then two men came from around Chuck and shoved him into a nearby vacant room. "What's going on?" he asked, trying to fight them off.

"I'm leaving," Bart said. "Amelia is going to accompany you here as soon as she tells me the whereabouts of Lily and Eric. From there we will discover Blair's whereabouts and bring them safely home. Hopefully by then you will have decided to reconsider your lifestyle."

Chuck stood agape. "You don't even know this woman! How do you know what she's capable of?!" the door was slammed shut in his face and he was thrown against the bed as the two men exited the premises. "Amelia will be in for you shortly," one of them announced gruffly.

* * *

"Mr. Archibald," a doctor came out from one of the patient rooms. "You can come and see her now."

Nate rose quickly and followed him into the room, where Serena was twitching in her sleep. "What's wrong with her?" he asked with concern.

"She has slipped into a panic attack. What makes this different from most attacks is that she is completely unaware. She is unconscious. She is…"

"In a coma?" Nate asked.

The doctor nodded subtley.

"How can this be? She just took an overdose of some sort of medication."

"Yes, I know. We are still trying to figure this out. Is there any idea you could inform us what that medication was?"

Nate shook his head. "I honestly have no idea."

The doctor sighed. "well then, why don't you just stay in here with her and I'll see what more I can figure out."

Nate nodded and sat in the chair next to her, slowly putting a hand against her cold, clammy face. "Oh Serena…"

* * *

"I'm kinda bored…."Blair droaned out for the hundredth time.

Ben looked up. "I could kill you."

Inside Blair shuddered, but she would not let it show. "With what? Your magazine?"

He looked at her in shock. _Had she actually questioned his authority?_

"Just wondering…" she said, looking down at her phone again, checking her messages. Nothing. _Come on Chuck, where are you?_

Just then, Ben got up and walked over to her, shaking her. "What did you do?!"

"Ahk!" she pushed him off of her. "What are you talking about? Get off of me!"

"Ugh," he flipped over his phone. Obviously his was on silent too. How he had known there was a bad news message on there, she would never figure out…unless it was staged? He went to the cockpit and Blair could feel the helicopter switching directions, and lowering? "I'm taking you home," he announced, landing back in his seat.

She looked at him, confused. "Uh…."

"Shut up!" he grunted, and reopened his magazine.

She gulped and smiled as she found a **NEW MESSAGE** blairng across her phone. "Okay…" she muttered.

He looked at her hesitatingly, and she said nothing more.

* * *

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!


	8. Taking Control

A/N: Hey all! Really REALLY sorry it's taken to me so long to update this. I just get so busy and get inspired for oneshots and making videos and plus like my lovely life of schoolwork…lol. Anyways! I will really try to update a lot more! I re-read the last chapter and I have to say….I think it's really good! Lol. Not that I didn't believe you all before when you told me it was, but um…yeah. Lol. So, enjoy! And please, please review! =D

…….

**Ch.8—Taking Control**

Chuck just sat there….in the abandoned room….on the bed.

"It has a bed, how convenient," he muttered to himself.

He shook his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. He could tell it was getting late again, and knew he was wasting his time. It frustrated him all the more that he could seek no way of getting out of his particular predicament. He already tried bribing the guards, but to no avail. He had no idea what Amelia wanted with him, but the fact that his father trusted _her_ over his only son? Okay, maybe that wasn't so unlikely. Maybe Amelia was the one to kidnap Lily and Eric, maybe that's why Bart Bass somehow was following her lead…how else could Amelia know about this? And Ben? Who would've suspected his alliances? He's been working with Bass Industries for years….how was it that nobody knew who his sister really was. Did anyone even know about his family roots?

Chuck rubbed his head. All of this was giving him a headache. He lay back on the bed, and though it was nothing like the comforting silk sheets of the bed in his suite, he reveled in their warmth. It was then that he heard the door creak open and silently close. He lifted his head upward, even though he knew exactly who it was.

The blonde's grim smirk slid into a wicked smile. "Long time no see, Mr. Bass," she said, slighly climbing on top of him.

For a moment, Chuck contemplated letting her do what she wanted, simply in the curiousity of his purpose in her life after the deed was done. But his instincts got the better of him and he threw her off of him and onto the floor, after throwing her a death glare.

He got up from the bed, dusted off his shirt with his hands, cracked his neck and turned to the frazzled girl in a heap on the floor. "Look, I don't know what you want with me, but I intend that you won't be getting it any time soon. Now, if you'll excuse me—" he headed for the door.

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you," she spoke sullenly.

He scoffed, turning to her. "And why not? What do you have on me?"

She smiled. "I have Blair."

His eyes went wide.

"Oh, and two of the guards are standing right outside that door you so willingly wish to open…"

He looked towards the door handle, hesitant but still wanting to grab it and escape….somehow.

"and they have guns," she said, taking his hand before he could reach for the doorknob again. He didn't pull away. Too afraid of more information she would force onto him. "Stay with me," she said, in her innocent school girl voice.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not sleeping with you."

She laughed. "Georgina was right. You do have a sweet, sense of humor," she fixed the collar on his shirt.

He pulled her hands off him and laid them beside her. He tried to let go, but she wouldn't let him. When he looked at her eyes again, seduction was written there as if it had been inscribed there merely in the space of time.

"Touch me," she whispered.

The air grew thick and both could hardly breathe. He could see Amelia growing weak as he smiled at her and knew that he had her. He was a mastermind at manipulation, and this blonde beauty was NOT going to outwit him.

"Unfortunately, you're not giving me an option," he whispered huskily, moving slightly closer to her.

She gasped, as if taken aback by his actions. She couldn't understand how he was suddenly giving in, when moments earlier it had been out of the question. She released him, her body aching for him to touch her. This wasn't just a job to her, she was genuinely physically attracted to Chuck Bass, had been ever since Georgina sent her that dashing picture of him. She had felt a heat consume her then, but it was nothing compared to the fire inside her now. She wanted him. Wanted him badly. And if nothing else, she was going to get a hot one night stand out of this. If she had learned anything from the Sparks', it was to believe you are the most powerful, that you have all the answers, that you get everything you set out to achieve, because if you don't…you will lose everything.

He could see the wheels in her head turning, she was thinking about something and if he was going to get anything out of her, he would have to give in a little.

"Turn around," he said, barely a whisper.

Her brow furrowed at this, but she did as she was told. He almost laughed at her reactions, he had her. This was too easy. She had let her guard down and she thought she was winning. Always let your opponents think they're winning…until the very end.

He placed his hands softly on her hips and could feel her tensing up. "Relax…" It soothed her. His words. And she let herself fall back into his embrace. She let out a moan….as he traced fingers up the sides of her figure and rested them on her shoulders. He was hardly doing anything, not what he would usually do to get a reaction out of a woman, but he was getting it out of her. She had let her guard down far too early. He smirked and extended his right hand farther down again, this time to her thigh….he felt the thin fabric of her dress and began to pull it up on one side, touching her skin for a moment and one moment only.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back another noise. Chuck felt nothing. The only release was in being able to breathe again. Before, with Amelia threatening his very life, he could not tell if there was even air for him to breathe….air he needed, if he was going to find Blair, if he was going to save the rest of his family, and Serena! Goodness knows what had become of her. At least Nate was with her. There were so many things that needed to be discovered, that needed to be solved, and with this blondie know- it- all hovering over him, he wasn't going to get anywhere. But he had found her weak spot, and it was him. He had taken the lead, he had grabbed the controls, and she had hardly become aware of it. He smiled. Why he had not thought of this before hardly registered to him. He had become intuned to his senses now, and as he whispered seductive words into her ear time and time again, (though from the moment he willingly touched her she was sold), he knew…he was no longer the prisoner here. The roles had been switched…and it had been all too easy.

* * *

Serena's breathing had steadied and she seemed to be more under control than before. Nate just sat and watched as her chest moved up and down at a regular pace. It was literally ridiculous how everything had all gone so wrong simply with Chuck not going along with Blair to Tuscany. _Surely, he could've saved her had he been aboard that helicopter, though maybe not._ He sighed.

"I guess I can't really blame this on anyone, huh?" he squeezed her hand.

He wished he could talk to someone about all this, but he figured it was best if no one else knew. No one else should have to deal with this baggage. It had only been a few weeks since the Georgina incident and already things were encircling around her again, or at least it seemed like something she would be capable of.

Besides, it wasn't like he had found many people he could trust and the ones he had, well….it would just be best if they were left in the dark.

He focused his attention back on Serena. Doctors came around every couple hours and in about half that time some nurses had come as well. Everytime they offered him some coffee, some water, a chance to walk around, but he wouldn't leave her side. He would never leave her side again. He didn't know what kind of a guy this Dan Humphrey really was, and even if he had seemed to make her happy throughout the year, he didn't deserve her. No one did. No one else that is. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her hand and leaned his head against it. "Oh Serena, please wake up."

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The heart monitor sounded off. Same old same old. Steady heartbeat. Unconscious beauty in a deep, deep sleep. Calling it a coma scared and discouraged Nate. If only this was a fairytale…those happy endings were so much easier to come by.

…………

_Stay Put._

_-C_

Stay put. Stay put. STAY PUT?!?! That's all it had said. No "I love you" (as if they had really gotten to that point in their relationship, but still! Desperate times call for desperate measures), no "are you okay?", no "you're alive!" no….none of that. Maybe Chuck Bass was not the biggest on emotions, but still of all times….this was not a time to remain numb. Blair tried her best not to look absolutely furious while Ben still sat reading that stupid magazine…must've gone through those 80 pages twenty times at least. But she had to respond to Chuck, she had to get out of here. She could question his motives later. She took a breath and began typing her response.

Ben looked up at her rapid movements. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Her eyebrows narrowed and she glared at him. "I'm playing a game," she said, emphasizing every word. She was hungry, hadn't eaten for the two days they'd been aboard the Bass helicopter. But right now that was the least of her worries. Li_fe and death was more like it._

Ben would've asked for more from her, but this girl seemed a little too much for him to handle. He was not even supposed to admit that, being a Sparks and all….but he had changed his last name some years back due to Georgina's advising. He was such a pushover when it came to his sister. It wasn't like she excluded her family from her manipulations. She had taught him well, that much was true….but her capability of dealing with troublesome, persistant, annoying people was certainly much higher than his own.

Georgina's instructions….they were practically imprinted on his brain…and the to-do steps were listed on every page of this lame self-made magazine he had brought along to keep him occupied. Ten hours flying around to god knows where, was not his idea of excitement. He sighed, aggravated with himself for giving in to his sister again. Where he really wanted to be was with his bride-to-be Amelia. _God, she was a beauty_. He smiled just thinking of her. She always seemed so innocent to him, was always so faithful, and he had been surprised that Georgina partnered the two of them together for this particular task. He didn't even know Georgina knew of her. Apparently she knew more than he liked to admit.

Ben's head nodded forward and back and then forward again. He was falling asleep, and a smirk spread across Blair Waldorf's features. She had been sweating due to her anxiety, but this might offer some advantages. She climbed out of her seat as soon as the snoring began and looked around the helicopter for any possible way of getting out. She noticed parachutes in the back, but there was no way she was going to be parachuting out of a helicopter. Blair Waldorf does NOT parachute. Besides, they were over the ocean again, since apparently he had decided to take her home, which she highly doubted was the case. He could not be trusted.

She was on her way back to the front of the cabin when she felt a dramatic decline in the velocity of the aircraft. Turbulence. She stumbled to find her seat but after ten minutes of suffering through this awful stomach flipping experience, she got up….dizzy and bracing herself on every available object for support. When she finally got to where the pilot "manikan" was sitting, she gasped covering her mouth. She didn't know much about airplanes, or helicopters for that matter, but she knew every type of vehicle needed some sort of fuel to keep continuing on its course, and this particular "vehicle" was running low on its fuel….and fast.

* * *

A/N: YAAAY!!! REVIEW PLEASE!!! You know, I usually have such difficulty trying to come up with material for my stories….especially when I want to jump to the end right away, lol. But I really don't have much trouble with this one. It's so fun to write! =D So thank-you for reading, and please PLEASE review! =D


	9. Excruciating Advances

A/N: Okay, I know I said I was going to update more often…and I apologize for this, BUT!!!!! (Okay, I really have no excuse) Sadly this will not be changing. I am giving you a chapter now to hold you over…and then I probably won't update for quite awhile. Because you know…having four CB multi-chaptered fics going and trying to update them all…and quickly…is just…well, overwhelming. So, I am just going to be updating 'so what if I'm jealous' (if you haven't checked it out, you should) until I finish it. And then I will resume this one, 'unable' or 'queen bee for a reason' one at a time, and so forth until I finish them all. ;p . If this is the story you want me to go on to next, then please go vote for it on the poll on my profile page. If not, it could be awhile before I actually update this story again.

With that said….I own nothing…no copyright infringement intended…and on to chapter nine of Never Again: A Chuck & Blair Story. ;)

…………………………….

CH.9—Excruciating Advances

Another jolt. And another one. She could feel the helicopter lowering and felt her own grace and calm fading away as the machine got closer to the water. Of all the things that could have happened during her kidnapping (_if you could even call it that_), this was the worst. She watched outside the front windows as she saw the scene before her unfolding. She had been kidnapped by Georgina's brother (ugh), no doubt in revenge for the sentencing to reformatory school only a few weeks ago, and now she was going to die in the Bass helicopter (_ironic?_) that was flying on empty, about to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Blair muttered, bracing herself with the door of the pilot's cabin as she stumbled back into where Ben appeared to be snoring.

"Ugh, figures." _How he could sleep through all of this she would never know_. _She didn't care if it **was** three in the morning._

Her only chance to escape, it seemed, would be to grap a parachute and jump out of the helicopter, before it reached shallower depths. Because if she waited much longer, then it would be consumed in water and there would be no saving her.

She went into the back near the bathroom, and began pacing and wimpering, trying to keep quiet. Ben may be sleeping, but she couldn't trust her senses. He had not been the most innocent of Bass employees, and there was no proof he had come to the light, no sign he would anytime soon either. He could be faking his entire sleep syndrome.

An extremely loud snore erupted from where he was lying.

Blair cringed. _Then again maybe not_.

She sighed, finally entering the bathroom, and locking the door, and crashing onto the toilet. She put her face in her hands, completely scared and not knowing what the heck she was going to do. If this was the moment of her death, there was only one person she truly wanted beside her, and he was a million miles away….telling her to STAT PUT.

"Ugh," she scoffed.

_But since when had she actually taken his advice? She was Blair Waldorf, and even the love of her life would **not** tell her what she should or shouldn't do. _

She didn't stop to think even for a minute that she had just admitted to herself that she was in love with Chuck Bass. She didn't even stop to think of the consequences of her going against what probably had been the right decision. The turbulence was getting worse, and she didn't have time to think. She pulled out her phone on instant, and dialed his number. This could not be said in a text. Her life was at risk.

………….

It was getting later, and time was slipping away. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes to hours. The days had gone by painfully slow, especially for those originating on the Upper East Side.

Vanessa, on the other hand, had been spending time with Dan ever since school had gotten out. As saddened as she was that Nate had decided to break off their recently formed relationship, it was nice to have all the time in the world with the eldest of the Humphrey children. It was enjoyable to not be sucked into the drama of the spoiled, rich kids. It was comforting to just walk around the streets of Brooklyn and get lost in the sweet summer air.

Dan walked beside her that afternoon making comically lame jokes, and she giggled in response. It was a comfortable relationship, and she smirked at him as he fidgeted with his hands, digging them farther into his oversized pockets.

He wasn't over Serena though, and the new feelings that had risen in her for Nate could not be dismissed so lightly. She turned and gazed at Dan for a moment, remembering how awful she had felt for leaving him after his declaration of love only a year and a half ago. And when she had returned, he had been with Serena. Vanessa had felt awful, betrayed, insulted….but in a matter of hours had managed to move past her feelings, however deep or sparkly they may have been, and focused on a friendship to last a lifetime.

"V"

She heard her name, but it was as though in a dream. Maybe she had fallen over, gotten intoxicated by the summer heat, or simply heard too many of Dan's jokes, but a haze seemed to encircle her, and she nearly felt as though her entire body was vibrating.

"V?"

There it was again, but in more of a question this time.

She stopped walking, when she felt a tug on her elbow, and then some wiping away on her brow.

"Vanessa! " he said frantically. "Vanessa, are you all right?"

She opened her eyes. Apparently she had stopped walking a long time ago. She looked up into his light brown eyes. She was on the ground, and her head was pounding. She brought a hand up to red the sore bump developing just above her left eyebrow.

"What happened?" she asked, a crowd of people starting to encircle her.

Dan pushed them away. "She's allright, you can leave now."

They slowly decipated.

He looked back down to her, and then softly chuckled. "You ran into the stop sign, V."

Her cheeks flushed a pale pink to match her lips. "I what?"

"Here, come on," he said, holding out her hand for her to take. "Slowly now…"

She dropped her hand from her forhead, and grabbed a hold of his own, ignoring the warning to take her time. She felt her head throbbing in pain because of her foolishness.

He sighed, knowingly. "Where does it hurt?" he looked concerned, but she knew he was shouting 'I told you so' over and over in that literary head of his.

"I must've gotten lost in my thoughts," she said, putting her hand up to where it hurt, and wincing. She turned to walk away.

His brows furrowed. "Vanessa, Vanessa wait!"

Her phone buzzed. That must've been the vibrating sensations she felt earlier.

"You just ran into a pole, don't you think you should take two seconds to—"

She cut him off, by placing a sweaty hand across his ever moving mouth. His eyes widened in shock. "Shh," she said. "It's Nate," she pressed the answer button on her phone. "Hello?"

Dan smirked, taking in her facial expressions, and prepping himself to tease her properly about it later. That's when her face fell, and she moved her hand from her forehead to cover her shocked and scared expression draining from her mouth.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll come right away," she snapped the phone shut and slid it back inside her pocket. She looked into the empty air, trying to comprehend everything she'd just heard.

"What is it?" Dan asked. When she responded to nothing for the next few seconds, he laid his hand softly and hesitantly on her shoulder.

She jumped slightly, shocked by his movement. She had gotten lost in her thoughts again. It seemed a common occurrence for her today.

She looked to him, eyes full of worry…and the emotion transferred to his deep spheres as well.

"I….I have to go," she gulped, eyes filling to the brink with moisture.

"Vanessa," he warned.

She pushed away. "I…Nate needs me," she said.

"Vanessa, you're not making sense. Tell me what's—" but she had already walked across to the next block and was out of reach from his incessant calling. He sighed. "Nice talking with you," he muttered, looking after her for another spare moment, before spinning around and heading back to the loft.

………………………

Amelia gasped, pressing herself into Chuck as he spun her around and decorated her collarbone with hot, steamy kisses. He had been carressing her body for hours until she felt the need to drift into slumber. Cautiously he had slept beside her, and luckily she'd only waken up some hours ago and required more of his _sultry_ ministrations. He drew his hands under the silky blue skirt of her dress, clutching at her flesh painfully. He bit at her jawline and licked the shiny gloss off of her lips. He could feel her hands rummaging themselves through his hair and scraping her fingernails desperately across the thick material of the vest resting on his back. Soon, her lips were on his neck, falling in far deeper than she had ever originally deciphered. He was letting her explore every inch of his clothed self, and she was completely at his mercy.

As long as she didn't know he wasn't into her, and continued to believe in the fantasy that he was, his plan would go along perfectly. He had rehearsed his movements in his head the instant she had come in through the door. It was harder than usual to sound like he was enjoying himself, and maybe he couldn't have pulled it off if this had been the Amelia who had originally walked into the Van der Bass suite not a few days ago. Or perhaps this WAS the woman who had walked in then. The subtle innocent girl who writhed in pleasure against him. She was in connection with Georgina, which meant she knew well the art of treachery, but he guessed she had been a good girl before whoregina crossed paths with her. That good girl was STILL hiding underneath the manipulative spew Ms. Sparks had created. Fortunately for him, this _good girl_, also had never been made love to properly. And she yearned to be. He could feel it in her needy fingertips.

In the midst of his angry, manipulative thoughts, he felt her hands graze his chest until they lowered to his pants buckle.

He smirked. That was his cue. _Finally._

"Ah, ah, ahhh," he spoke into her ear.

She froze, entirely too intoxicated by his very voice.

"You'll have to do me a favor first," he continued.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. She was trembling. "Anything," she whispered. Her blue eyes shone with a heated passion he was sure she'd never know.

The smirk he sported turned into a wide grin. "Get rid of the guards."

…………..

It no longer surprised him when Amelia instantly scampered off and slipped outside the bedroom door, closing it tightly behind him. If he had known ahead of time that this girl could be so easily maneuvered, he would've sicked himself on her at the very beginning, without hesitation. He could hear her talking with the guards outside the door, flirting even, and he knew she had gone through EXACTLY what she had promised.

He had yet to go through with the rest of his plan with getting not only out of the room but out of the van der Bass residence all together. But he was assured now that it would not be as difficult as he originally imagined. His doubts had clouded him earlier, but now he had fallen back into his cocky, overconfident self…and nothing would cause him worry anymore. He would get out of there. He would save everybody, and Georgina Sparks would have hell to pay….again.

**BZZZZ. BZZZ.**

Chuck's eyebrows furrowed. He gasped, remembering now. His phone had vibrated earlier, during the makeout session with Amelia, and luckily she had not noticed. She had been too into him at the time to notice, and for that he was grateful. For the buzzing had gone on for a longated amoutn of time, clearly notifying a call not a text. But he ignored it in order to stir Amelia on and she had continued on, oblivious to the incoming call.

**BZZZZ. BZZZZ. **

Another vibration? That could only mean one thing. He was too caught in his thoughts again. He should've picked up the phone at once. Rapidly he thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

**1 MISSED VOICE MESSAGE.**

His eyes widened when he saw who it was from. _He had told her to stay put_. She wouldn't have called if it had not been urgent. He pressed the button slowly, but with a great urgency flowing through her fingertips. He lifted the device to his ear, and waited. His mouth dropping open with what he heard and then shutting tightly again, cringing at the dreadful noise he heard.

"_Chuck…Chuck…" panting. Panting. "I'm… jumping." Screams._

……………

A/N: Please review! I know cliffhanger…I'm awful. ;p But O-M-G,I just saw a spoiler clip from tomorrow's episode and it will be SO epic, you will DIE. Blair finally says those 3 magic words and it does not end well, but her speech is so epic and so beautiful, you will be in tears. Wow.

*gasp* OOPS! Did I just give away a spoiler? *innocent look* my bad. ;p


	10. Intimidation

A/N: Wow. It's been over a year since I last updated this story. I'm sorry. But! I am half-way done with getting through the four multi-chaptered fics I had to finish, so therefore I think this is progress. ;) I hope this fic won't be a repeat for you though, since in SWIIJ Blair got kidnapped, and she is technically kidnapped in this point in _this_ story too, but…different circumstances? *shrugs* *doesn't know* Moving on…(lol) these chapters will be much longer. I thought the chapters in this story were so much longer than in my other multi-chaptered ones, but apparently I was just lame a year ago and couldn't write a decent chapter length. XD Please forgive, & read on! Review too! (I hope there are still some of you out there still following this fic…*too hopeful*)

* * *

**Ch.10—Intimidation **

It was now mid-afternoon and she had no idea how it was even possible that the helicopter hadn't crashed and burned by now, but luckily enough the descent to the ground was not quick and fast as she had feared, but maybe secretly hoped for. Ben was still mysteriously snoozing in his seat in the opposite corner from her, and she honestly had no clue how he could sleep through something as life shattering as this. But he was a creep, and she wasn't about to investigate his sleeping patterns.

She was pacing now, going out of her mind with what she would actually do. She didn't want to die. If anything, she wanted to get out of this alive. _But taking a parachute?_ Not an option she wanted to consider. She figured it was highly impossible that someone was actually tracking the Bass helicopter for where it was going and who was aboard, and what was going on with the people aboard, and the fact that there weren't any _freaking real pilots in control of the plane!!!_

She nearly stomped her foot at the thought and how in the world she could have ended up in this mixed up position. She probably should've gone back to Chuck. Even if he _had_ been cheating, at least she could avoid being kidnapped by some Bass personnel that just happened to be related to Georgina Sparks. She shuddered. She may have sent the bitch away to reform school, but apparently there was nothing the little devil couldn't break through.

Her hand fingered its way roughly through her messy curls. The hat had been discarded long ago, and her appearance surprisingly was the last thing on her mind. She didn't know what she would do if Chuck didn't call back, and _soon_. The helicopter descent was getting faster, and she scoffed as Ben started to snore. She was half-tempted to go over there and rip his precious magazine from his hand and smack him on the head with it, just to get him to shut up. She was scared of the guy. Nobody wanted to be the main target in a Sparks' scheme. It was harder to manipulate your way out when _you_ were the one wanted dead.

What she didn't understand though, was the fact that Georgina had looked absolutely petrified when she had been found out and sent away to a school for "troubled" girls. _Had it all been an act?_

_**BZZ!!**_

She sunk down into her chair again, looking out the window and away from the character falling into all different positions in his own chair. If she had to die this day, she'd rather it be with Chuck – even if he _had_ been cheating before. There was just something about him that made her feel whole, beautiful, cherished, and she knew that wouldn't stop even if he was unfaithful. It was a truth she was willing to bet her whole life on.

_**BZZ!!**_

Her eyes fluttered shut, all sounds blocking out and becoming a blur. The failing sound of the engine, the decreasing whip of the helicopter blades, the vibrating feel and sound calling to her against the side of her leg. All she could do was remember.

_"Chuck!" she squealed, running to the other side of the room. He followed her into the room, and shut the door behind him. She heard the lock click and her eyes flitted to his hungry, dark eyes._

_"You forgot something at my suite the other day," his voice fell deep as his eyes scanned the length and curves of her figure. There was not so much as a smirk on his face when he spotted no confusion on hers. He pulled up from behind him a pair of lacy black panties and her eyes widened. She backed up into the wall and it was then that the smirk reappeared on his face. "What is it, Blair?" he asked, walking towards her. "You look troubled."_

_Her eyes focused in on him and she regained her confidence, and scoffed. "Please. You don't know what you're talking about. So, I left them there. So what?" she shrugged. _

_His demeanor didn't change in the least. He was almost to her and as soon as he was, he pulled her flush up against him and forced her to hold the now crumpled black fabric in her hands before tossing it onto the bed. His lips hovered over hers and she found it hard to breathe._

_"You should…" she gulped._

_"I should…?" he inquired._

_She blinked, and her eyebrows narrowed. "You should be glad I'm not accusing you of cheating on me!" she insisted, pushing him away from her. His grip held tight to her wrist though and he quickly rejoined her against the wall._

_"Relax, B," he murmured against her skin, kissing the ivory wall of skin along her neck. She moaned softly, her hands coming around his waist and clenching tight to his shirt. "I don't have eyes for anyone but you."_

_"I thought we were taking it slow," she whimpered, gasping when he bit at a sensitive spot in the crook of her neck. She felt the smile on his face and nearly unraveled right there._

_"What are you talking about? We __**are**__..."_

_**BZZ!!**_

Blair's eyes snapped open and she shook away the memory from only a few days prior. Her hand wiped across her face for any possible remnants of sleeping dust, and immediately realized she was in a great need to be redoing her make-up. She stood to her feet and then instinctly felt the device buzz against her again.

"Oh!" she shrieked in a whisper, picking it up immediately and answering the call. "Hello?"

"Snow White…"

Her eyes widened further, and an unfamiliar fear crowded in around her, making her feel hot and strangely claustrophobic.

"Bitch."

Georgina was humored. "Well, I'm glad to hear you haven't forgotten my name, B."

Her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?" she growled.

"Feisty little thing, aren't ya?"

"Georgi—"

"Well, as far as my sources tell me, you are caught in a crashing helicopter, from Bass Inc. no less. The same Bass Inc. that is led by the father of the infamous Chuck Bass, who you _actually_ thought was going to be faithful to you," she snickered.

Blair bit her lip hard to keep her temper from boiling.

"Regardless," she said nonchalantly, "I thought I should inform you that your attempt to get rid of me – while impressive –was most definitely unsuccessful. And, if you don't want to literally crash and _burn_, along with that inefficient helicopter, I suggest you abandon yours hopes of redeeming any sort of relationship with Bass, and agree to my terms."

She scoffed. "And why would I do that?"

Georgina's lips curved into a smile. "Because you're now over the Atlantic Ocean again, the parachutes in the back are faulty at best, and I've got a way out just behind you."

Her anger was brewing. "And how do I know you're not lying? Chuck could be coming. I called him!" She shouldn't have admitted such things out loud, but her life was at stake and she needed to weigh her options – quickly, even if it was not the smartest decision to voice, especially to her mortal enemy.

Georgina laughed. "I wouldn't lie to someone who would die if I didn't save her."

Blair seemed to contemplate the truth in that statement. Her head felt it was near going to explode from all the information that had now swallowed her up and was willing on destroying her in the next few moments.

"As far as Chuck saving you?" Georgina continued, "I wouldn't count on it."

Blair sighed testily, quietly.

"Even if he was faithful, and did care about saving your life, which all heartless womanizers do I'm sure," she drawled sarcastically, "how would he get to you in the middle of the ocean?"

……………………………………………….

"Nate—"

"Vanessa!" He jumped to his feet and walked quickly towards her, pulling her alongside the wall in the hallway.

"What's going on?" she looked around, her eyebrows furrowing. "I got your frantic message, actually ran into a stop sign because of it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I just—wait," he stopped himself, and reared his head back in surprise and a bit of humor. "You ran into a stop sign?" he asked slowly. Vanessa's eyes closed in frustration and embarrassment.

"Yes. Can we just…" she sighed, "move on?" she gestured about with her hands. Nate shook his head quickly to rid himself of the mini-tangent.

"Uh, yeah," he cleared his throat. "Serena's in the room right here," he pointed to the door at his right. Vanessa's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! What happened?" she moved to go inside, but he stopped her and brought both of them to the chairs a little farther down the hall.

"No, don't go inside. I don't think it'd be—" he sighed, and her eyebrows furrowed again. She tried hard to understand with his subtle hints. "…a good idea," he finished. She nodded, forcing herself to accept it. "And besides," his face cleared over, and he looked up at her. "There's more."

Vanessa focused and tried to digest everything he had to say throughout. From Chuck's ditching Blair to one of the Bass men possibly kidnapping Blair and now Serena's sudden overdose and therefore stay in the hospital.

"Why don't you just call the police?" she asked when he had finished. Nate sighed, and she wondered if it had been the wrong thing to say. In her mind though, it seemed completely legitimate.

"Because," he said, "it doesn't look like a kidnapping."

"But…" she trailed off, not wanting to push the fact that it might not be.

"It looks like Blair got ditched by her boyfriend, and Serena took too many drugs. Besides, Blair's only been gone a little over a day, two days at most. That's not really enough to justify a missing person."

Vanessa sunk in her chair. "Why do you come to me with all of this, Nate?" she asked. He registered in her face and just stared into her eyes for awhile.

"Because I trust you Vanessa."

She blinked. "And because you need something from me," she realized.

He straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "I'm not Chuck and Blair, Vanessa. I wasn't trying to manipulate and flatter you just so I could get what I wanted." A small curve at the edge of her lips gave him the confidence to continue.

"But?" she asked, her smile widening.

He looked away for a moment, and scrunched his eyebrows together in a way of trying to figure out how to word exactly what needed to be said. The curly haired Abrams girl found it absolutely adorable.

"It's okay, Nate," she whispered, placing her hand over his that was resting on the smooth chair space between them. "You can ask me for something." He turned to her and seemed to visibly relax, his lips turning upwards at the corner as well.

"I need you to get Dan involved."

Her lips parted, and it was a few moments before she voiced her very confusing thoughts. "Dan?" she asked quizzically.

Nate nodded, somehow sensing she wouldn't be on the same page as he was after he asked. "You heard about what Georgina did to Serena, right? How she messed with Dan and her?"

Vanessa's eyes widened a little and she leaned her head against the wall. "Oh yeah. Sarah wasn't Sarah. She was and continues to be Georgina Sparks, a cold-hearted bitch who messed with the sweetest couple alive," she scoffed.

Nate chuckled softly, glad that the quick temper he had evoked made Vanessa unaware of his quiet actions. He had never seen Vanessa so fired up before. He had heard once upon a time that Vanessa and Dan had been almost more than friends. It surprised him that she was so supportive of his union with Serena Van der Woodsen then. But he didn't question it. He admired her courage and loyalty to her best friend.

"Well…" he cleared his throat, and watched as her eyes flashed back to his and her face visibly softened.

"Right," she shook her head at herself, feeling ridiculous. "Continue." She pursed her lips.

He smiled. _She was cute_. "You must be aware of how Georgina turned Dan's feelings towards her instead of Serena then."

Vanessa sighed testily, but forced herself to only nod and allow him to go on.

"I think," he paused, mulling through his options once more, "I think a more sure-fire way of saving everybody in this mess is if we deceive her more than she can deceive us."

Vanessa gaped. "Is that even—"

Nate held up a hand and she silenced herself again.

"She acted the part of being in love with Dan, yes?"

Vanessa nodded reluctantly.

"I'm thinking…maybe it wasn't all an act."

Her head reared back in shock, but she took his words to heart. "I think I see where you're going with," she sighed, running a hand through her head of curls, tucking a few curls behind her ear. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked up from the floor to Nate's eyes. "You want me to get Dan involved with Georgina Sparks," she said blankly. She so obviously was against the idea, he could tell, but he also knew she would do her best to convince the Brooklyn boy for the security of all involved.

"Just as a hoax," he clarified.

She nodded slowly. "A hoax." She shook her head and it was clear on her face just how much she was against the idea. Nate felt sweat beads form beneath his bangs on his forehead. "You do realize how much trouble she caused all of us, especially Dan and Serena." Her eyebrows were fused. He could see the angry fire in her eyes. "You're asking me to willingly throw my best friend into that mess again?" she huffed in a whisper, and standing to her feet.

Nate panicked as she went to leave. He grabbed her hand before she was out of reach and it stopped her. She had felt her heart swell too many times in the last few days during this whole fiasco, and now that he had told her they would not act in the way boyfriends and girlfriends do, at least during the summer, she was trying extremely hard not to think of him in this way. Then she remembered it was she who had placed her hand on his earlier.

_They were even_, she decided.

"Vanessa, please," he pleaded with her. She turned back around. "I know it's hard and painful and I wouldn't ask it of you if it wasn't absolutely necessary. My heart broke for Serena during this, so I definitely know how you feel."

Like a dagger to her soul, Vanessa's piercing eyes remained targeted to his. She felt Nate's care for the blonde beauty in the hospital room now beside them. Her moments with the heartthrob felt like nothing now and it gave her all the more ammunition to reject his request.

She sighed though, and her shoulders slumped. With her eyes now glued to the floor, she nodded. He breathed a '_thanks'_ of gratitude and released her hand, heading back into Serena's room. Vanessa turned to watch him for the small length of time it took for tears to sting her eyes. She walked to the elevator and waited. Her heart thumped loudly against her chest, but she knew once again it had clouded her judgment and made her cheat.

_Hopefully Dan was in a forgiving mood._

* * *

"Oh my God…Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God," his nails dug into his scalp as he tried to prevent screaming. Blair was in so much trouble, but he had given her strict advice that would surely save her. _Now she was resorting to jumping off the helicopter? Goodness knows how it had lasted as long as it had, but still…_

"Chuck..." he heard Amelia coo as she reentered the bedroom, and shut the door behind her. Chuck forced his worried, scared-to-death demeanor to evaporate on the spot. He was still stuck in the room after all, and he couldn't do anything to aid Blair until he became _un_stuck.

"Amelia," he drawled, his lips curling into a smirk. He saw her cheeks flush and witnessed as she shakily untied the ribbon from her hair and walked "seductively" towards him. He tried not to laugh. He just focused on what needed to be done, and met her half-way. "I thought you'd never return," he whispered against her ear. Her eyes rolled back and she swallowed hard.

"I was anxious," she admitted, biting her bottom lip and reaching for his belt buckle again. He grabbed her hands softly and intertwined them with his own fingers.

"How'd you dispose of the guards?" he asked, his lips grazing her soft skin. She swallowed hard.

"I…I…"

"Tell you what," he interrupted, turning his face to look into her tense blue eyes. She blinked, soaking in the heat emanating from him.

"Hmm?" she asked, barely audible.

"I'm going to grab something from the kitchen…for _us_," he emphasized, moving past her towards the door. He waited for her reaction, not wanting to seem too hasty and therefore breaking her from the spell. "Okay?" he asked, overconfident, and putting himself in check because of it.

She nodded weakly. "Uh, okay," she accepted, her limbs finally collapsing once he closed the door on his way out. She fell back onto the bed and shut her eyes softly, images of Chuck Bass dancing behind them.

_It had been too easy_, he thought, summoning a Bass limo with a mere twist of his fingers the moment he exited _The Palace_ hotel. The interior designer was apparently only good at one thing…interior designing.

Chuck chuckled, sliding into the limo and refocusing on the task at hand. His mind froze and he couldn't think straight. He didn't think he'd ever been so panicked or felt so dead in his entire life. For five minutes solid he felt this. It was as if something was pushing him into the seat, strangling him of his breath and punching him square in the stomach all at once. His heart beat blindly, raggedly against him and it took the curious common question of his driver to get his mind back in place.

"Where to, Mr. Bass?"

Chuck blinked away what anyone else might call a tear, and turned his head towards his driver. "Just drive," he said, and leaned back into his seat, trying to forget the feeling of disappearing into it all together and being unable to breathe. He wiped a hand across his face to rid himself of the tiny specs of sweat appearing all over its surface. He turned his gaze out the window, and then suddenly remembered Blair's message.

_"Chuck…Chuck…" panting. Panting. "I'm…jumping." Screams._

He swallowed hard, and shakily dialed Blair's number. The first two rings seemed to last forever, but he was grateful that at least her phone hadn't been turned off and wasn't busy.

"Hello?"

It sounded like Heaven.

"Blair," he breathed, sighing in relief.

"Hello?" she asked strangely. Chuck shook himself of his airy panic and cleared his throat.

"Blair," he said more clearly, "It's me, Chuck." He smirked, preparing himself for an apology and a way out of whatever situation she still might be entrapped in.

"Oh," she said, disappointment evident in her voice. His eyebrows furrowed. In their last text messages she had sounded panicked. At least she could give him the confirmation that she was all right. "What do you want, Chuck?"

He was silent for the longest time, and it surprised him that she didn't hang up on him all together. "Well, uh, are you okay?"

She scoffed. "Yes, Chuck, I'm okay. Is there—"

"Don't screw with me, Waldorf. Last time we spoke you were practically on your death bed."

She laughed. "Right, Chuck."

He could almost feel exactly how she'd roll her eyes. "Blair—"

"You're exaggerating, Bass. Clearly you just gave into your own sense of pathetic drama."

He gaped. This was not _his_ Blair.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"Chuck."

"Blair."

The gauntlets were out.

"You owe me an explanation, Blair."

"You first, Chuck."

His eyebrows fused.

"Was I complete idiot for thinking you'd change for me? That you'd actually be faithful?"

His lips parted.

"One week gone and you can't keep your dick in your pants," she scoffed. "I don't know why I ever chose you over Nate."

"Nate had Vanessa!" he nearly shouted, the haunted, painful memories consuming his better judgment.

"A Brooklyn girl? You've gotta be kidding me, Chuck. I could blow her out of the water in a second," she spat.

"You don't belong with Nate," he ground his teeth.

"And you don't belong with anyone."

He sighed testily. "Look, I don't where you are, Blair, but the Gossip Girl posts _aren't_ true."

She sneered. "Aren't they?" she cocked an eyebrow. "How _did_ those pictures make it to the messages then?"

"I was tricked, unconscious. I wasn't aware of them," he insisted.

"Oh that's laughable, Chuck," she spat. "If you're going to lie to me, please think of some honest to God good way of going about it."

"Bl—"

"You're pathetic."

His mouth snapped shut.

"I don't forgive you, in case you were even thinking about apologizing."

His face fell, feeling like a complete moron for _'I'm sorry'_ not being the first words to slip past his lips. He didn't know what was going on, but the real Blair Waldorf would have at least given him a shred of a chance. This was ridiculous. _He couldn't just lose her so fast all over again, could he? _

It was Cotillion all over again, except maybe this time Nate wouldn't be there to sweep her off her feet. He had Serena to deal with, and Chuck was pretty sure his feelings for Vanessa hadn't diminished completely. Though he was awful pissed when he had heard of Chuck's almost activities in regards to Blair. The possibility still hung there in the balance.

He swallowed hard. He couldn't breathe. An apology would sound so forced and ridiculous now. If this was really how Blair felt, why was he even bothering chasing after her again? If she wasn't kidnapped now, if things weren't really as bad as he had found them to be and he was just victim to a broken heart _again_, then…

"Don't hang up," he pleaded, and the weakness in his voice made her stay. She sighed.

"What, Chuck?"

No vulnerability. Just pure bitch.

"I didn't do it."

It was pure, honest truth, and if she knew all that had happened, there was no way she could deny it. It was no apology and he knew he needed to give it, but saying it right then would sound more like a give-in than a genuine feel-bad situation. It wouldn't be taking responsibility to Blair Waldorf. She had heard too many fake apologies from Nate Archibald. He wouldn't give her that. And this was more than he could have offered at Cotillion.

"Go screw a whore, Bass. It's what you're best at."

_**CLICK.**_

* * *

A/N: OMG. I can't believe I finished this. XD It took me like…_hours_. Lol. I hope you enjoyed it though, and will continue to keep reading! *would love this* I will explain Blair's huge shift in attitude/decision in the next chapter. There is a legitimate reason. ;p Please review!


	11. Blind Sighted

A/N: It is snowing crazily here and so I write – not that I wouldn't write anyways XD. Lol. I want to say how appreciative I am for all of you that reviewed this last chapter. I'm sure tons of the original readers have given up b/c the timeline in this story is so long ago or they just didn't want to wait. Also, there are some readers who just started this fic recently and abandoned it b/c the writing got too OOC and unrealistic. I just wanted to point out that this was technically the first GG multi-chaptered fic I attempted, and my writing style (if you couldn't already tell) has greatly improved in the last two years. I'm sure that's obvious when comparing the last chapter with my first one. Again, I just wanted to thank all you wonderful readers and reviewers for sticking through and actually really enjoying it. It is very encouraging and definitely gives me that extra _oomph!_ to keep writing. ;)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Ch.11—Blind Sighted**

"Well, well, Snow White, it seems you are far more skilled than I'd realized. Lying to that poor Chuck Basstard just to save your own skin," she sighed contently. "How sweet."

Blair's eyes fluttered closed and her sweating hands clenched tight to form a fist on the brink of explosion. Georgina's request hadn't been one she wanted to comply to at all. She didn't want Chuck to think he would never get her back or that she wasn't going to forgive him for something she wasn't even sure that he did. Feelings had redeveloped in her during the last week and a half, feelings she hadn't wanted to admit to before, and all she wanted was to give that Chuck Basstard a way out and back to her. But that wouldn't even be possible if she were dead in the next five minutes.

"I have to admit, I didn't think you'd actually allow me on speaker phone during that lovely conversation. Chuck is desperate when acting the "faithful cheater", now isn't he?" she mused.

Blair's teeth ground down against each other and she felt she was going to burst.

"The plane?" she asked, as carefree as ever. Georgina's lips curved into a smile.

"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten."

Blair heard some orders being shouted to some men in the far distance on Georgina's end and figured transportation was soon to come.

"We're coming up right along beside you. There should be an exit sign above an almost transparent door on the right side of the helicopter. Pull on the lever on the left hand side and there'll be someone there in about two minutes to help you over."

Blair sighed and nodded, hardly caring if she could see her defeated actions. It might just be in her best interest if she didn't.

"Oh, and Blair?" Georgina asked.

Blair blinked, and the breathing still evident on the other line gave the girl the evidence that she was still listening.

"Bring my brother with you, will ya?" she paused, torturing the girl further. "And make sure he's got that pretty magazine of his with him."

Blair twitched, and hung up the phone, but Georgina knew she'd follow orders. She wasn't safe yet. The helicopter had yet to crash. And the thought occurred to her just then, that the bitch's _brother_ was still on the helicopter with her, and _that_ could've been the key reason Georgina kept Blair afloat – not for the courtesy of her _own_ life.

The thought passed her in the rush of the situation, and Blair scurried around to gather what things of hers she had. She spotted the small plan moving up beside them, and was glad at least for that truth. Ben was snoring peacefully in his chair first and Blair rolled her eyes. She walked towards him and did her very best to wake him through shaking, poking, and the occasional smack. He didn't so much as budge to her onslaught. She yelled his name, and attempted a short, shrill screech, but it only caused him to shift half a centimeter and teeter his head between both shoulders briefly. Blair rolled her eyes.

_Damn, this guy can sleep._

A strong knock on the emergency door abruptly stole Blair from her frustrations and she followed Georgina's orders, carefully pulling down the lever and pushing the door out into the open air. In front of her there was a masked man holding out his hand for her to grab. She analyzed him in the few seconds he let her, noticed how there was a few tight pieces of rope wrapped around her that originated from the plane ten feet away.

"T-take him first," she stammered, gesturing to Ben behind her. The ma stepped towards her, but she backed away and he realized it was because she was afraid. "He's asleep. I can't wake him," she said, before he could convince her otherwise. The man nodded and headed for the heavy load still snoozing in his chair.

Blair watched as the magazine that had been sitting his lap fell to the floor, and for a moment she considered keeping it there. She didn't need Georgina delivering out any more threats while they were still in the air and the matter of life and death was out of her control. So when the man turned his back with Ben in his arms, Blair scampered quietly over to the chair and stuffed the magazine in the depths of her purse. Georgina might be suspicious of her later, but it was the least of her worries right now.

The helicopter tilted as the two men reached the doorway, and it flew back to its original position once they departed. The whistling wind blew pressure throughout the entire aircraft, and Blair's eyes widened when she saw the ocean waters less than fifty feet below them. Clutching her purse tightly, she hardly realized when the man came back and pulled her out of the helicopter. The feeling of practically flying should've been exciting for Blair, had she ever wanted to try it by way of skydiving of the like, but it wasn't. She never had and she never would thanks to this experience. All she felt was fear and complete paranoia as she dug her nails into the man that delivered her from what would have been a painful death. She would've been more grateful if the destination he led her to wasn't a living hell on earth.

Once inside, the door shut loudly behind them and stale warmth filled Blair. She moved away from the door and crossed the width of the aircraft to peer out the window. Hearing a sudden crash, and feeling the way the plane she was now on lift from its current height, she made her way to the window beside the door where she had come in. The helicopter burst into flames and sunk slowly into the crashing blue waves below them.

Blair shuddered at the thought of what could have been had she remained on the aircraft. She brushed her mind's thinking aside again though. She couldn't think in _'what if's'_, only what would be and what was. And what _was_ stepped into the room and cleared her throat with a smile.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Waldorf."

* * *

Serena's eyes fluttered open slowly. She felt the thin blankets barely covering the tip of her toes. She heard the sound of the heart monitor beeping, and saw a clipboard with sheets written in the deepest black ink. She couldn't read a thing at the distance she was at, and she noticed right then how her body was stuck to the machine by long, colored, winding cords.

She sighed, straining to bring a hand to her face when her head began to ache. She couldn't remember very much of how she had gotten there, and she definitely didn't know how long she'd been there. The last thing she could recall was being in the same vicinity as Nate and Chuck at one point, and her headache only increased when she tried to remember further.

She turned her head though and came upon the crossed thin window impacted in the door. Though her eyes were a bit blurry from what felt like a forever-long sleep, Serena could see the two characters clearly, by their heights and their hair color. Neither were wearing a hospital uniform. She saw the girl – the shorter figure – try to leave, but the boy's hand held her fast. It appeared the two were having a moment and that fueled madness within the blonde tied to the bed.

Tears sprung to her eyes and she forced the lids closed. Her head began to shake and then she felt her whole body revolting. She was hyperventilating. She was trying to grab hold of the bed and make it all stop. She didn't know what was wrong or why this was happening, and the headache that had begun to ensue was beyond repair. Her whole body felt like a burning cauldron.

Then, she stilled…and it all went black.

"Excuse me, Sir, Sir! C-Can I? Will you please let m—ugh, my friend's in there!" Nate huffed in frustration and began to pace. No one was letting him in. Something intense and disturbing had happened in Serena's room just as Vanessa left, and no one would let him in. Doctors, nurses, orderlies, all hospital personnel it seemed, were allowed into that room except him – the person who had actually brought the patient in.

He retired to a chair a few feet down the hall, right in the midst of the ones he'd just been present with Vanessa on. He leaned forward with his head in his hands and tried to calm himself. Everyone looked to be running in and out of the room with something new and different to say, but it was all gibberish to him, and he couldn't stand that he was unable to interpret anything in regards to Serena's state.

Everything was just so crazy and complicated and unsafe in every regards to that which was Blair Waldorf the last few days. Chuck had pretty much gone off the deep end, and as if Serena convulsing wasn't enough, _he_ had to go get Dan and Vanessa involved too.

Nate shook his head and suppressed a grumble low in his throat. It probably wouldn't do him good to only think about Serena when he knew nothing in regards to the huge new development of what he had clearly been too blind to miss. It wouldn't do him any better though, to think of anything else on top of that. Whoever thought of all that was wrong in the present at once was flat-out out of his mind.

"Young man," he heard, about an hour later after he had drifted to sleep in the uncomfortable hospital chair. He blinked and looked up wearily at the gray-haired man in a white coat looking down at him. He sprung to his feet.

"Y-yes, Sir?"

The older man smiled. "Did you bring in Miss…" his eyes flitted down to the sheet on cardboard in his hands. "…Serena Van der Woodsen." His eyes fastened back on the boy.

Nate nodded. "I did."

"Well," he gestured to the chair Nate had just stood up from. "How about we sit and I tell you exactly what's wrong with your friend?"

Nate froze as the question of what he and Serena really _were_ flitted across his mind. The way they had been interacting lately got him thinking that maybe they could be back to the place they were when she'd returned from boarding school – if they'd let them be. He knew it would be harder on her end, regardless if Blair was with Chuck now or not. After all, when these traumatic events were over and everyone was okay again, it still wouldn't guarantee Blair wanting to be with Chuck. He _had_ almost cheated on her. Life-or-death situations don't fix stuck habits, even if they do make you realize what and _who_ is important to you.

Nate blocked the thought of Vanessa from his mind. He had recently promised himself to only focus on Serena. And with the doctor right there in front of him, that's exactly what he was going to do.

"Yes," he said, reoccupying the chair he had left.

He never imagined a doctor sitting side by side with the family or loved one of a patient in pain. He had seen glimpses of Serena through the window, and what had looked like a sporadic seizure could not possibly be enjoyable. He hoped she was unconscious for it. And he hoped the whole quiet, comfortable demeanor of the doctor beside him meant something good, or at least something to hope for. He swallowed hard, and turned his head to the older man.

"You were told before that Miss Van der Woodsen had collapsed into a coma, from an unknown cause. Am I correct?"

Nate nodded numbly. "Yes."

"Well, I don't know what happened to bring her out of it, but she woke up—"

Nate's eyes sprung to light and he matched his vision to that of the doctor's. His face fell soon after when the man did not seem to share his joy.

"Unfortunately, she convulsed into a seizure soon after, brought upon some emotional distress, we believe."

Nate's head fell.

"I don't know when she'll wake up again."

He sighed.

"Cheer up though, son." The doctor held a small smile as he patted Nate's shoulder. He wouldn't show it because the day had been long and he had seen too much heartbreak throughout the long twelve hours. But the way Nate's gaze remained glued to his barely moving fingertips on his lap made him want to retire for life. It was the second worst thing about being a doctor. Next to saving the patient, the number one goal was to bring relief to the surrounding support that held the patient together.

Nate's lips parted, the slack hope going in one ear and out the other. He was just trying to focus on the simple task of breathing.

"She woke up once before, she'll do it again," he said with certainty. Nate could not believe where the certainty and cheerfulness of the doctor had come from, or if it was even real. He had told him what had happened and the possibilities of good or bad in regards to what would happen next. Now he was clearly just trying to prevent tears. Nate would hold those back, even when in the following moments the presence of the doctor left him and a cold, empty breeze flew around him from the cracked window at the end of the hall.

* * *

The rumble of the limo's engine beneath him brought Chuck back to current reality. His mind searched itself blindly for a place to go, a place to mourn for something they may not even need mourning for. Chuck could tell in the way her voice lilted that perhaps she was over-exaggerating her words, maybe it had been forced by Ben or some other aiding criminal. But that didn't mean the words didn't still sting. He was Chuck Bass, and he knew it. He knew what had been expected, and he meant those words he said to his father.

_"That's the best thing about Blair. She knows me, knows I'll never change."_

_But couldn't he change? Wasn't it at least possible? For Blair, the girl that had given him butterflies when he'd thought he wasn't capable of feelings?_ Chuck shut his eyes tightly and rubbed at the corners, trying to rid himself of any sleep crumbs or moist matter. He didn't know what to do next. He had to do something though, and dwelling on the sharp pain gutting at his heart wasn't going to get anything done any faster. He flipped out his phone and dialed the familiar number of his too-often-called P.I.

"Mike," he began, deciding preparation for a prolonged opening would give him more time to think of what he was actually calling for, what was the purpose in his call.

But he was silenced.

"Mr. Bass, I'm glad you called. I was just about to inform you."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"About what?" he managed.

"Your father's gone missing."

His eyes widened.

"We don't know who yet, or why, but we're trying to figure that out."

Chuck choked on his breath.

"And what about Blair?" he breathed, the last of the oxygen seething out of his body. He hoped to God Mike knew about the situation regarding the young brunette. It was what he paid him for, knowing everything.

"She was on a helicopter with one other individual—"

"A nobody in my father's company, yes—"

"The helicopter crashed…" his voice slowed, and blurred, and faded in Chuck's ears. "…there were no survivors……...…Mr. Bass?"

"I uh…" Chuck blinked, trying to regain control of his senses. "I have to go, Mike. _Please,_ find out anything else you can, especially regarding the Bass aircraft." It was almost begging and he knew it, but lives were at stake and the thought of Blair no longer existing brought a sore, achy feel to the base of his stomach. He couldn't figure out why all of this was happening, and even though he knew Georgina had to be somehow involved, it didn't help. Now his father was kidnapped. It would be all over the news and in every single media stand if he went to the police. First Blair, then Serena collapsed, Lily and Eric managed to get kidnapped, and then his father.

_Wasn't this going a little far to revenge reform school?_

He shuddered. _There had to be more._

_And Blair had to be alive…_he wouldn't let himself think otherwise. Somewhere in the last six months, Blair Waldorf had become his entire world. He had risked his friendship with Nate, his best friend since they were old enough to talk – he had risked that for the continued mutual feelings he shared with Blair Waldorf. He had never felt that way before, never bubbled up with butterflies when he saw her smile or sensed her presence. She had always been beautiful, but she had never been his. And when she ripped herself free of his clutches and stuck herself back to Nate, it was the emptiest feeling in the world. He wanted to hurt her so she'd know his pain, and know that it wasn't a joke, even if that's all he portrayed in the open.

But he came to senses. He came back to reality and realized again how Nate was his best friend, and he needed him. He realized again, or maybe for the first time, that maybe he was in love with Blair Waldorf, and so because of that he'd own up to his actions and apologize, without expecting anything in return but a second chance to prove his reputation wrong.

If he hadn't messed around with 'feelings', Nate and Blair would be back together now, and they'd all be laying around in the Hamptons. He scoffed at his messed up logic. Whether he had pursued Blair or not, he wouldn't have been able to just push those winged insects away and move on with his life. Blair Waldorf was an addiction, and all it took was a blind break-up to make him realize it.

_"Are you sure?"_

The fire in her eyes that night had been unshakable, both on stage and in the moving vehicle that roughly removed her chastity belt. How she offered up all of herself to the notorious womanizer, constant schemer, and loyal best friend of her recent ex-boyfriend had sent his mind whirling, and it still did. She was so innocent and yet capable of the most devious, incriminating crimes. She was just like him, and the battling fire both broke them and brought them together.

The way his heart soared when he was with her…the feeling of her lying there in his arms…

His eyes closed at the memories. Blair Waldorf couldn't be dead. She was too strong a fighter, knew too well what was good for her and what she deserved. She wouldn't give in to death, wouldn't at least seek a way out, wouldn't call him screaming that she was about to… jump to her death?

_What could __**he**__ do about it?!?!_

Chuck began to hyperventilate, catching himself and quieting down when he caught his driver's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"I'm fine," he said, and his driver looked away. Chuck leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes, slowing his breaths and breathing in deeply.

_"Butterflies?"_

Breathe In.

_"Something this beautiful…"_

Breathe Out.

_"…deserves to be seen on someone worthy of its beauty."_

Breathe In.

_"In the face of true love you don't just give up…"_

Breathe Out.

_She's not dead._

* * *

A/N: Well, it didn't take as long, and I hope you loved it. Please review. I'll try to update soon. =)


	12. Defenseless to Her Whims

A/N: I really wanted to update this yesterday, but getting your wisdom teeth pulled really does a number on you, and I just couldn't make myself focus or create enough energy to formulate a decent chapter. Heh. So, there it is. Oh, and get this. It was only my 2nd of 4 wisdom teeth, so I get to go through this weary madness two more times. *rolls eyes* Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this. I really appreciate all you readers and reviewers again who just jumped on board to a fic I hadn't updated in over a year. Thanks. ;)

Review!

* * *

**Ch.12—Defenseless to Her Whims**

Three hours later and Amelia Granger's fair eyelashes fluttered her eyes open. She was nearly falling off the bed, and the sudden realization sent her scooting back towards the head of the bed instantly.

"Chuck?" she called into the suite.

Her hair was a mess, she was sure, but after some quick primping in the floor length mirror a few feet away, she agreed to her faded professional demeanor. She went for her lip gloss in the small shiny purse across the room and reapplied some to her lips. She smiled seductively into the mirror and felt encouraged by her rejuvenated appearance.

Amelia wandered out of the room into the open area by the front door but could find no one, could hear nothing but the dimmed video game noises coming from a TV in a room down the hall. She sighed, knowing well enough the activities being participated in that room were probably not due to Chuck Bass.

She sighed heavily, leaning against the door frame of the room in which the two guards from earlier had been sent to "make themselves busy".

"Boys," she acknowledged. The two remained glued to the TV screen and she rolled her eyes. "Boys!" she yelled, smacking her hands together in a loud clap. The men sitting cross-legged on the floor turned their stares to her instantly, pausing the game. She raised a brow. "You about done?"

The two stood to their feet, grabbing their deep black jackets and zipping them to the neck. Amelia grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, noticing offhandedly how there was a bag of chips and almost empty pretzels beside the video controls. She decided not to ask questions.

"Search the premises," she said, turning on a whirl. As amusing as the two half-assed guards were, she was developing a pretty strong hunch that Chuck Bass had left right under her nose. "When you've confirmed to me that the Bass heir somehow got away," she turned and glared at them, as she made her way towards the main room, "I'll need the limo to arrive pronto." She huffed and waited by the door, impatiently tapping her foot and pulling up the shiny purse over her shoulder. "This deception will not go unnoticed."

The men scrambled about and hunted throughout the suite, and regretfully reported back to the blonde standing infuriated by the door. Neither wanted to make their presence known to her, and Tom, the shorter, fatter one, already had his phone flipped out of his pocket and was calling the limo services they had come with – quite ironically a complimentary service of Bart Bass himself.

"Miss Granger—"

She held up a hand, turning to him. "Save it, Alex." She crossed her arms across her chest. "Is the limo coming soon?" she asked. Alex turned to Tom who appeared to be profusely sweating just by the feel of Amelia's gaze on his heated head.

"Soon," Alex confirmed to her, when he saw the manner in which Tom had resorted to. Amelia sighed and plopped herself up on the counter, tapping her fingers annoyingly on top of each other.

"All right, well, go…do something," she said, annoyed. Alex was confused momentarily until he saw her withering glare and made to scurry away. The two men may have been intimidating to whoever they were guarding over or making sure wouldn't escape, but Amelia was a bitch, and they themselves were intimidated by her. "Tell me when it's here!" she called to him as he dragged Tom away to a distant room. She heard a grunt in response and flippantly brushed it aside, leaning back against the cabinet.

Amelia pulled out her phone and decided to call Ben. They hadn't talked in days it seemed, and it was probably true, but nobody could be certain. He must've been on the helicopter with Blair for at least two or three days. _It takes that long to travel back and forth across the ocean_, she guessed. Then again, everything appeared to be a blur. She sighed, and dialed the number. When it picked up, she was relieved. Their relationship had seemed pretty steady over the last couple months, and all she really needed right then was to hear her fiancé's soothing voice.

Her face froze.

"Amelia, love."

The grinning voice was nothing like she had expected, or really wanted to hear at the moment – not during this entire scheme, if she was being honest.

"Georgina," she said, surprised, her attempt at being flat and disinterested utterly failing.

"How's the plan going, Cous?"

Amelia blinked.

"Chuck Bass still in the palm of your hands?"

"_Ah, ah, ahhh," he spoke into her ear._

_She froze, entirely too intoxicated by his very voice. _

"_You'll have to do me a favor first," he continued._

_She pulled back to look into his eyes. She was trembling. "Anything," she whispered. Her blue eyes shone with a heated passion she was sure she'd never known until this day._

_The smirk he sported turned into a wide grin. "Get rid of the guards."_

She swallowed hard.

"Completely in my clutches."

"Good."

She could feel the smile on her cousin's face and knew the brunette knew far more than she was letting on. If her instinct were correct, she wouldn't let her blonde partner in crime go on in naivety much longer. Georgina was just that evil. She didn't keep her schemes a secret. She let her victims know how much longer they had to live.

Besides, the endless thick patch of silence that was now emanating off the phone drove chilled shivers up Amelia's spine.

"Well, I think I'll go now…"

"Oh! Uh…"

"Yes, dear?"

"What about Ben?"

Georgina cleared her throat. "Oh yes, your _lover_," she nearly spat. Amelia did not miss it. She was not proud of her actions but in her own defense she couldn't control herself. She just should've known better than getting involved with her cousin. He's family.

"He's passed out on the couch behind me."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Wha—?" She could not help her confusion from seeping through. Georgina laughed lightly at the blonde's façade falling apart.

"The helicopter crashed, A."

Amelia's eyes widened.

"Luckily, I got there just in time to save your pathetic nonsensical fiancé, and our most high-esteemed victim, Blair Waldorf."

Her lips parted.

"He's your brother, G," she said after a moment. "How can you talk about him like that?"

"How can _you_ do what _you_ do?"

She gulped. "Georgina—"

She was interrupted by an exhaustive sigh. "Just bring Chuck Bass. You know the where and when…and how," she smirked.

"Geo—"

"Do it," she demanded – no room for questioning. "Or I'll tell our favorite Benjamin just how close his fiancé is to him, and what she does when he's not looking."

She swallowed hard again, and her eyes began to water.

"Goodbye, dear."

_**Click.**_

Amelia looked up at the two men re-entering the room, their phone clicking shut just as she slid hers into her purse.

"The car's…" Tom gestured blindly behind him. Alex, having retained some more confidence from their last conversation, just rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"The limo's here, Miss Granger," he said.

Amelia nodded numbly and slid off the counter. She exhaled, breathing deeply before laying her hand lightly on the doorknob to turn it.

"Well then," she turned back to look at them briefly, "let's go, boys."

No pizzazz. No attitude. Just a firm need to accomplish what needed to be done. Both men were two steps behind her as she narrowed her eyes on the elevator outside the door, and the thoughts that surrounded her.

"Let's capture that s.o.b."

* * *

With shaking hands he flipped opened his cell phone and dialed in the number of his best friend at the hospital. Just because he had told himself she wasn't dead, that didn't mean he had convinced himself completely. The facts all added up to that reality and it scared him shitless. His one encouragement was that all the extensive research in the world hadn't prevented Georgina from coming around the first time and harassing Serena. Logic and realism just didn't really exist in Georgina's world, and that fact alone told him that Blair was alive. It made him hope for that at the very least.

"Chuck," Nate greeted, a little bit shaky himself. Chuck didn't notice though. He was nearly hyperventilating and he couldn't move a single ligament in his body without shaking quite visibly. He tried his best not to open his eyes. "Man, are you all right?" the blonde asked, and Chuck's eyes squeezed shut tighter.

"Nate."

The boy swallowed hard.

"There are some things I have to tell you…that are going to be hard for you to hear."

Nate's eyes widened. There was already so much on his plate, and from the sound and waver in his best friend's voice, he didn't think this new intake of information was going to keep him from crumbling completely. Chuck Bass was pretty strong on the surface. He didn't show his emotions at all – not the hurt, sad, angry ones at least. And the Chuck was talking to now was bearing everything to him.

"Okay?"

Chuck sighed. "Lily, Eric, and…my father are missing."

Nate blinked.

"They've been kidnapped."

"Chuck, I –"

"There's more."

He silenced himself.

"The helicopter…that Ben and Blair were riding in…"

Nate closed his eyes, willing himself not to hear the inevitable.

"…it crashed. In the middle of the ocean."

Nate bit his lip hard, trying to not spin out of control with Vanessa recently gone and Serena still unconscious in the room behind him. He pushed his head further into the wall he was leaning against, feeling he could completely lost it any second.

"Nate."

His attention was brought back, especially at the sound of Chuck's needy voice. This was not a Chuck he had ever seen or heard.

"I have to find her."

He sighed, nodding, his head plummeting into the hands he laid out before it.

"She's not dead," he insisted, and instantly Nate fell sorry for them. If Blair truly was dead, which she seemed to be, it appeared Chuck would live in denial for _awhile_.

"Chuck—"

"NO. I know how it sounds, and that is all my P.I. has told me thus far, but…" she shook his head violently, putting up the glass shield between him and his driver so his tears wouldn't be visible to the outside world – to no one else but his best friend's voice on the other line.

Nate was afraid to say anything, but he could not help the tiny sigh that seeped through. He knew Chuck wouldn't be able to handle what he was currently dealing with on top of the possible death of Blair Waldorf – which he really couldn't understand Chuck was doubting. P.I.s were pretty accurate.

"Something's happened over here too, Chuck," his worry-laden voice said.

Chuck sniffled briefly and focused his mind on what could possibly be said. "Did Serena wake up?" he asked, a cough clearing most of the weary tone of his voice.

"For a little bit," he nodded softly.

Chuck's eyebrows furrowed. "But?"

Nate closed his eyes again, just willing himself to forget _all_ of this. "She had a panic attack and convulsed into a seizure."

Chuck gaped, losing control of everything that was holding him together. He wasn't really close or much of anything but a new step-brother to Serena Van der Woodsen, but he still cared about her. Caring for Blair had brought out a different side of him, and he didn't know how to put that back.

"The doctors say she'll probably wake up again, that maybe it was just some sort of emotional stress that erupted…somehow."

Chuck sighed, running a hand through his hair, and lying his head weakly on the glass window he leaned against. "Any other news?"

Nate nodded, suddenly taking on a professional air. "I…I called in Vanessa."

Chuck's eyebrows fused again but he could not form any words.

"I know it may have been better to keep this to ourselves, but…" he sighed, "I think she can help us."

Chuck's fury was near its breaking point and he broke away from the phone for a moment to bite his fisted hand and release some of it. How could he tell Vanessa? It was bad enough that the four of them were aware of what was going on! Not to mention his own new family. Chuck breathed in and out deeply, desperately trying to reclaim some sort of control over the situation.

"How?" he asked, stifling a growl and a misguided hatred towards his best friend – in the heat of the moment. Nate felt he was on dangerous territory but knew he had to persist.

"I told her to convince Dan to go after Georgina."

His lips parted in wait of how that would help.

"Georgina tried to seduce Dan, to make him fall for her because—"

"I know what happened, Nathaniel. How does this—"

"I think maybe Georgina wasn't completely lying when she posed as the hurt girl with a crush on him. I think maybe she liked him a little. And…if that's true, then maybe—"

Chuck cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…" he sighed, gesturing into the nothingness. He sunk into the leather seat and thought over the forming plan in his head. In all of this mindless madness his best friend had stepped up and formulated a manipulation. If Chuck wasn't in so much misery, he'd be giving him a victory party for entering the world of schemes. "I think it'll work," he said suddenly. Nate's eyes widened.

But before he could speak, Chuck overrode him.

"But I need to talk to Vanessa."

Nate's eyes narrowed. "Chuck, I don't know if that's such a go—"

"Nate," he warned, and the boy sighed in surrender. He nodded unknowingly.

"Okay. Okay," he said, knowing Chuck needed this. Blair dead or not. "I'll call her, and tell her to meet up with you."

Chuck lowered his head, thinking the act through and then shook his head blindly. "She's not going to listen. Not just by hearing the proposition."

"Chuck, I think—"

"No. Tell me where she is, and I'll track her down."

Nate's lips parted helplessly, his jaw dropped.

"It's the only way she'll listen…and cooperate."

"Maybe it's best if I—"

"Nate, no. I _need_ you to stay with Serena," he insisted. "Please just do this for me," he breathed.

Nate nodded again, giving his surrender up again. Chuck was falling apart and still stronger than _he_ ever really could be. His hand clenched around the arm of the chair and he swallowed a breath he hoped would keep him going for the rest of the call.

"I don't know where she is, Chuck. She was going to talk to Dan for me, but I don't know where they would've met up. They weren't at his loft when I called her the first time."

The brunette sighed and nodded. "I know how to find them," he said, clicking his phone shut on instant. He probably should've offered his best friend a better explanation. But so much had to be solved, and he didn't have the energy to deal with _'should have's_.

"Arthur," he lowered the glass between them, "Brooklyn."

* * *

Blair spun around, finally facing her kidnapper head on.

"That was Amelia," Georgina announced, tossing the cell at the base of Ben's feet. He twitched in acknowledgement and moved his head briefly, but then returned to his peaceful sleep. His sister rolled her eyes and turned the girl who had finally caught her eye. "Blair," she smiled wickedly, "How nice of you to fi—"

"You think you're real slick, don't you?" her eyes narrowed.

Georgina's lips slid into a solid smile. "Manipulative is more the word I'd like to label myself with."

Blair scoffed, moving across the room to look out the window again. Her fingers clenched tight into her arms to restrain her anger.

"Although ultimate schemer probably fits me pretty well too," she contemplated, drumming some of her fingers along her chin. Blair rolled her eyes, not sure if taking the lifeline Georgina had thrown out to her was really worth it.

"How'd you do it?" she prompted finally. Georgina's eyes flicked to hers.

"Get out of that pathetic reform school you sent me to?" she raised her eyebrows. Blair said nothing, just stared her on. "Well, I admit, for about half a second I was terrified. Until I recognized a look-a-like of myself when I got there."

Blair gaped. "Are you kidding me? You got out of there based on luck?"

Georgina rolled her eyes and deposited herself on a couch opposite Blair Waldorf. "This time, yes. But I would've gotten out of there regardless. You can't efficiently get rid of me, B," she taunted.

Blair sighed again, finding it harder by the second to get rid of her rage. "So, what do you want me for then? What good am I to you on this plane?"

"Well…" Georgina mused, toying with a lock of her own hair, "About now I imagine Charles has found out your helicopter crashed, making him believe you're dead," she smiled maliciously at an almost teary-eyed Blair. "I think he deserves it, you know. For cheating on you?" she raised an eyebrow.

Blair shook her head at her slowly. "There is no good in you, is there?"

Georgina pursed her lips, pretending to think up an answer. "Hmm."

"You're the Devil's spawn," she said with completely conviction.

"Guilty as charged," Georgina shrugged, standing to her feet again and going to her pile of magazines stacked neatly beneath the flat-screen TV.

"Fine," she said, folding her arms across her chest and finding herself firmly implanted on the closest plush piece of furniture. "But you haven't answered my question."

Georgina glanced at her. "My original goal in coming back to the city was to reunite with Serena. You and Chuck prevented that."

Blair shook her head incredulously. "Serena didn't want—"

"And now she's been punished," she smiled, holding her hands together in a clasped positioning. "No Dan," she beamed, her eyes twinkling. Blair tried hard to stand her ground and just waited for the rest of the details. Georgina sighed, slightly saddened that her prisoner wasn't giving a fight now. "That doesn't mean I don't still want Serena."

Blair's lips parted, and her eyes widened just a little.

"Chuck's got the very best in P.I.s," Georgina smirked. "But I'm sure you know this." She walked across the room, visiting the window Blair had been so consistently gazing out of. Then she turned to her. "Regardless, nobody knows that you or Ben survived." She smirked. "That can change if I need it to." She returned to the stack of magazines and picked one out from the pile. Then she went to sit on the far off couch again. "I can even manipulate the situation so you never have Chuck again."

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Better keep to my plan," she nodded triumphantly.

"Which _is_?" she grounded her teeth against each other.

Georgina chuckled. "Baby steps, Snow White. I think you've been informed of enough for one day." She winked, and Blair felt like she was about to go insane. She caught her breath and made sure to breath deep and slow for the next few moments. Her eyes stayed pinned to the carpet until the moment came that she could hold a steady glare to Georgina Sparks again, without being penalized for it.

"Are there," she cleared her throat, "any other rooms, on this plane?" she asked, her voice steadily, the muscles in her throat clenched.

Georgina smiled. "Two that way," she pointed to the small hall beyond Ben's sleeping body, "and one in the front, by the cockpit." She nodded, dropping her eyes back to the magazine she held loosely in her grip.

Blair stood to her feet and moved roughly towards the hallway Georgina had vaguely gestured at. When she turned in one direction, a horrid smell invaded her senses, and so she turned to her right for the other room. It was a large, dimly lit room with a huge king-sized bed. Blair closed the door behind her and clicked in the lock. She let her heels fall easily off her, nearly tripping on them as she moved towards the bed and fell onto the stiff softness of its cotton covers – nothing like her silk ones back home.

_Home_.

Nothing was like back home. It was hard even remembering what home _was_ after an experience like this…_especially since the experience was still taking place! _Never in her wildest dreams had Blair thought this would be the result for trying to avenge her best friend, Serena Van der Woodsen. Not that she regretted it in the least. She would do anything for that blonde beauty. She was just so in over her head now… Georgina was bad, but she never could've thought she'd go to such lengths because of her obsession over party girl Serena. Now Blair was in love again, and suddenly it all had become life-or-death.

She climbed further up the bed and stuffed her face into the pillow, screaming downwards so as not to be heard. She sobbed and didn't even try to stop herself. It wouldn't surprise her if Georgina had a key to the room, but at the moment it didn't matter. Her whole life had fallen apart and all she wanted was Chuck to hold her.

But he was miles away and he thought she was dead. Looking at the situation before her, she might as well have been…

* * *

A/N: Wow…this took me like….6 hours or something. XD Forever, really. *shakes head* Wow. Y'alls better review. Hehehe. Lol.


	13. Blurry Light

A/N: Yay! Sorry it took me a bit to update, I was…delayed. Heh. Anyways, here it is! Please review! ;D

* * *

**Ch.13—Blurry Light**

Her time in that room seemed to last forever. Every memory, both happy and sad, had been dragging through her mind and she determined to have it stay there. If this was the place she had to stay, the demeanor in which she was to live…or to be used, then she wanted those brief lights of memory to stay with her forever – just like this.

"Blair," she heard a still, quiet voice, and a knock at the door. Her eyebrows furrowed and it took her a moment to actually turn her body and rub away at her weary, now painfully dry eyes.

"Who is it?" she asked curiously. It didn't sound like anyone she'd heard. She thought surely if it was the aircraft's staff they'd call her by a more formal name like 'Miss Waldorf' or the like. The door cracked open before she could think of much else, and it was then that she realized there was no way of escaping Georgina or anyone else on board. _The locks were faulty._

"Ma'am? Err-Miss? Uhh," the man sighed, cutting himself off. Blair scooted herself back on the bed and the stuttering figure in the doorway was met with her raised eyebrows when he looked up next. "I'm sorry, Miss Waldorf. Miss Sparks told me to use your first name and barge in…casually, but I just…" he cut off.

Blair nodding knowingly, feeling bad for the poor fellow as she pulled herself to her feet, picked up her purse and moved to where he stood. "It's okay, Captain." He blinked, wondering how she'd known, clearly not thinking the possibility through of the pilot hat he held in his hand. "'Scuse me," she said softly, moving past him into the hall. Georgina was waiting for her, smiles and all when she came out of the dark shadows.

"Pleasant dreams?" she asked, blinking innocently.

"Nightmares," Blair said simply, moving towards the door and escalating stairs before it. She didn't know what they were doing or where they were going, but she was ecstatic to leave the airplane. And her feet heavily agreed with her when they hit the solid ground. The Pilot looked out after the two, watching them interact, and feeling uneasy standing stock still by the doorway outside the plane. Georgina waved cheerily at him when she noticed, and Blair managed a weak, polite smile. He nodded briefly to both of them and returned to the cockpit of the plane. The other man that was aboard had been transferred to passengers' next awaiting vehicle. All _he_ could do was hope he wasn't endangering any _one_ of them by leaving.

When the plane was out of sight, Georgina turned to Blair with a sickly malicious smirk and her eyes glowed. Her hands were either clung tight to her purse or twirled up in the twists of her hair. She wouldn't look away and it angered Blair intensely, though she did fight hard to keep it concealed.

"What?" she asked, forgetting her task for a second and succumbing to the disgust that slid easily through in her voice. The witch only deepened her smirk and turned away from her hostage. Blair's eyebrows furrowed but she followed her. Now she was confused.

"Come on," she called calmly to Blair, who was no more than a couple feet behind her. "We're going to be late."

Blair's eyebrows furrowed deeper. "Late for what?"

Georgina sighed. "So many questions." She rolled her eyes. Blair was confused beyond all reason but continued to follow her. Of course she could've used this time to escape, but they were in a deserted empty airport. _Where could she really go? _Soon enough though, Georgina came to an abrupt stop and after recovering from the shock, Blair spotted the new mode of their transportation. A limo.

_Limo._

_"…if he knew how much I enjoyed the removal of a certain chastity belt in the back of his very limo?" he asked, smarmily, of course come-backing her threat of what hang in the balance regarding his best-friendship status with Nate._

_She had hated him then._

Now, she blinked her tears away, hating that her own selfish pride and need to be Nate Archibald's glowing girlfriend with her happy ending all signed and sealed by way of the Vanderbuilt heirloom on her ring finger…had kept _them_ apart for so long.

"We're going to my summer house," Georgina declared. "Or maybe a hotel," she shrugged, sliding into the limo and sending a twinkling smile to the limo driver who held the door open for her. "I haven't decided."

Blair's eye twitched, and she grudgingly approached the limo, inwardly groaning at the thought of actually having to sit next to her mortal enemy for who knows how long. She dragged out the few steps to the limo as long as she possibly could. The man beside the limo now turned to her and smiled, his fingers still lying atop the limo door for as long as it would take her to enter. She smiled weakly, and then turned to look in the opposite direction, incredibly hesitant to enter the vehicle.

"Coming, Princess?" Georgina asked, quirking her head so she was in full view of Blair Waldorf. She got a seething glare in return and it pleased her to an exceedingly high extent.

"In a second," Blair spat, feeling a sudden vibration in the purse hooked around her elbow. Her eyes widened and she discreetly checked inside the small fashionable accessory. _No new messages_, it said. That confused and frustrated her to no end. She must've bumped the vibrate button on accident and caused its 'for example' cycle. She rolled her eyes and pushed it back inside when a thought occurred to her.

_"You're just going to go back to Serena like nothing happened?"_

Blair smirked, a brilliant plot forming amongst the spinning wheels of her mind. Georgina was deceitful, dishonest, and downright bitchy. But _she_ was the queen of the Upper East Side, and the '_crazy bitch'_, as she had put it. She didn't miss details, especially the ones that were particularly hard to see.

"Blair," Georgina snapped. It surprised the brunette who stood there fingering smooth, swift motions on her phone before officially taking those final steps to the limo and sliding inside. The man who had held it open for what was probably far too long, shut it firmly.

"Just admiring the view," the brunette shrugged assuringly, thickly plastered smile across her face. Georgina looked at her in disbelief, especially now that her hostage appeared so very not upset and worried. It was just a flash across her face though, and then she glanced out the window herself.

"It is nice this time of year."

Blair smirked. _Indeed._

* * *

When they first told him she was awake, he had been panicked and had felt extremely guilty for addressing, almost flirting with Vanessa when one of his best friend's might be waking up from her coma. This time he was so uneasy. The doctors had flown in and out of the room, though not as quickly as before, and finally the older man from before came to him and told him it was safe to re-enter the room.

Serena's eyes were weak when he came across her form. There was a hint of a smile on her perfect lips, and he took comfort in that – whatever comfort _was_ by this point. He sat at a chair across the room, afraid to touch her, afraid that she would convulse again. She seemed so fragile, even if she _had_ finally woken up.

"Nate, come here," she said hoarsely. Immediately he moved his chair to her bedside so she wouldn't have to exert herself. They sat there in silence for awhile, when finally his eyes flicked to hers.

"Do you want some water?" he asked, his hand suddenly less than an inch away from the cup on the tray standing to the left of her.

"Mm-mm," she shook her head. He nodded softly and brought his hand back to rest in his lap, not noticing when she quirked her head to the side a little.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He gaped.

"Shouldn't I be asking _you_ do that?"

She smiled softly, apologetically, and instantly he was comfortable. He reached forward and grabbed hold of her hand, holding it softly, afraid to let it go.

"I'm sorry," she managed.

He shook his head, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. "Don't say that. You couldn't control what happened." She nodded, accepting it. Even if she _had_ gotten jealous of his transaction with Vanessa, it didn't mean she had been physically able to control what it would do to her body. More silence followed.

"I'm here now," she shrugged, "_awake_," she encouraged. He just nodded, his eyes lighting up only for a moment in that realization. He was just still so concerned for her, and yet he had such a heavy load to carry. She was his best friend and he always told her things weighing on his mind, especially burdening ones.. But if just a little emotional stress had sent her spazzing into a seizure and unconsciousness before, there was no way he was going to attempt the bucketful he would've had to pour on.

"I'm glad," he said, exhaling relief. She smiled further.

"Do the doctors know what's wrong? What I took?"

Nate shook his head. "They don't know. But they're trying to figure it out. I think they might have to do some tests."

Serena cringed. She _hated_ tests, medical or otherwise.

"It's the only way they can really…" Nate sighed, brushing a hand through his hair, "tell."

She blinked, focusing in on his tired appearance. "I know," she said softly. He nodded, releasing her hand as he sunk back into his chair and covered his eyes with his fingers loosely draped over them. The disarray bangs helped to shade his vision further.

"Nate…" she said, some time later. She scooted herself so as to sit in a more correct stature against the bed. Nate immediately stood to stop her from not relaxing as best as she could, but she insisted she was fine and eventually he could do nothing more but allow her to do what she believed she had to, or desired in the very least.

"What?" he asked, quite unsure and wary of the situation as he sat back down.

"I know why I relapsed," she said, not quite meeting his eyes. Her face felt suddenly so hot and she was afraid to look at him. She knew he was only concerned for her and it made her feel all the more guilty. People had been taking notice of how much she and Nate had been hanging out, and how closely, lately. But she had just broken up with Dan and he had just found chemistry and magnetic likeability with Vanessa Abrams. Neither of those could just be tossed away. It would mean Nate and Serena were extremely fickle. And if the year had taught them anything, that was certainly not true.

Nate's eyes flashed to hers and he leaned forward, his bent arms on his knees. She knew he was waiting, but for some bizarre reason, she could not force herself to continue for the next five minutes. He said nothing, and finally she sighed, triggering a message to her brain that she must open her mouth with words.

"You should get some rest," he said, noticing how her fingers clenched the bed sheets as the wheels in her head turned. She looked up at him, completely confused. She had thought he would want to know more than anything what had caused her latest blackout. He'd want to tell the doctors, try and see if the knowledge of that would help prevent them in the future. Maybe just the clearing out of the toxin in her body would solve this whole thing, but none of this could even get its start if he wasn't aware of what she was sure had caused the emotional-physical interaction that had resulted in her sudden seizure.

"Nate—" she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"No," he cleared his throat. I see you're breathing more deeply, less systematically. Your hands are gripping to the sheets for dear life and I can tell just by looking at you that you're tired," he said, determined. He was very animated when he talked, made sudden movements & widened his eyes as he scanned the room. When his eyes landed back on her taken aback form, he shook his head and stood to his feet, pulling a hand through his hair again and moving to a chair on the other side of the room. He ignored her pleas for him to stay with her.

"Tell me it's not about Vanessa," he said, his eyes frozen to the floor. For the five minutes following his outburst and restless behavior, there had been silence. Nate's mind had been whirling the whole time, and Serena had just been in shock. Idiot, he told himself, but the thought had been gnawing at him. He had to know if he dealing with some sort of rivalry between the exotic, cute, black curly haired beauty or the glowing blonde goddess he'd always wanted from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

Serena scoffed.

"Serena—" he said softly, his eyes finally lifting up to hers, earnestly seeking the honest truth.

"No, Nate, that's ridiculous," she insisted, but his deep blue eyes wouldn't take that lie for a truth and eventually she resulted in sighing and sinking into the depths of her pillow.

"I saw you two in the hallway," she turned her face away, staring at the emptiness that was her water cup. It seemed so luminous now, and she lost herself in it – thankful for the release. Nate said nothing. In his mind he had told himself it was true, but secretly he was hoping it wasn't, should he bring the topic to the surface.

Now he didn't know what to do. Only Vanessa was unaware of the jealous tensions the two had formed over the past week. She would continue to be unaware unless he informed her of it, which he most certainly did not want to do, if he could help himself. He didn't need a cat fight in the midst of it all to add on to the madness. He couldn't reassure either girl they had nothing to worry about.

He flung his head into his hands and dug his nails into his face, suppressing the groan for the whole cruel situation and his idiotic mind for thinking about romantic feelings at a time like this. Chuck had made it pretty clear that the emotional attachments should come later. _Rescue Blair. Cure Serena. Destroy Georgina. _Of course Nate could never follow orders to completion, especially in regards to whatever girl he might be interested in. Vanessa and Serena were _not_ a true or false, do or do not item he could cross off on his list. It was either/or, this or that. He couldn't have both, and the friction threatening to tear him apart forced him to stand and pace and then leave the room with a little less than a _slam!. _Polite looks to nurses and a refusal to take into recognition Serena's truly confused or at least worried facial expression did not change things.

_Why couldn't he just make up his damn mind?_

* * *

"Mmm," Vanessa mused, pretending to think of something. She glared haughtily at Chuck then for having made her repeat the details – of which there were not many – to him, for the third time. "That's it, Chuck." She brought the warm cup of tea back to rest on the table her elbows rested against.

Chuck stared at her, _sure_ there was more, just like he had been sure there was more every time since they started. Vanessa grew annoyed – again – and turned to look into nonsensical corners in the coffee shop, hoping he would just leave eventually. She had gotten even more concerned with the new information the cocky rich boy had shared with her. But it didn't prove that their current activities were doing anyone any good.

She sighed, avoiding the penetrating eyes he had been using to convince her to repeat herself. She hadn't even known how he had found her, and that fact alone was more than a little unnerving. She was on her way to talk to Dan, had just gotten off the phone with him and they had decided they were going to meet at a little park five blocks from the loft. Less than a block later, there was Chuck with his _limo_ and his _'get in'_.

_Stupidly, she had followed orders. _

Because he had said he came from Nate and that he had more urgent news on the situation at hand, she had stayed. But now he was grasping at straws and she didn't have patience to hang around until he decided he had a bright idea. She was going to talk to Dan as Nate had requested, and she didn't understand what use there was in Chuck telling her how to do so. _He hated Brooklynites anyways._

"Vanessa."

"Chuck," she responded, still infuriated with him. "I have told you everything. Nate told me there was trouble, which clearly you've added onto, and that telling Dan to act the part of adoring boyfriend to Georgina would help get rid of her, and thus create huge progress in cleaning up this…" she gestured around with her hands, "madness."

Chuck nodded numbly, looking to have heard this too many times. It irked her.

"I was just on my way to inform Dan of all of this…at a park by his house." She sighed as Chuck's eyes now searched the far-reaching corners of the room. "You _know_ this."

"Yes, but," he cleared his throat, scooting himself closer into the table. "How are you going to go about 'informing' him of these things?" he asked. It almost took her by surprise. It was the most direct he had been since first asking her the account of what she knew twenty minutes earlier.

Then she scoffed. "Uh, the same way I tell him everything _else_?" She flicked her hand away in an annoyed gesture. Chuck just stared at her in disbelief, and then disapproval. "How I tell him everything else _serious_," she emphasized. Chuck visibly relaxed and leaned back in his seat, seeming to ponder what to say next. Just about anything would surprise her now if it wasn't what he had directly just said, or a rewording of the same request he had asked her since they sat down at the coffee shop.

"But you have to tell him in a way that he can't say no to," he said affirmatively.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I think I can convince him well enough," she said, suddenly feeling a vibration coming from her pants' pocket. Her eyebrows furrowed and Chuck's testy sigh was completely blocked out. She reached down and pulled it out, her eyes widening after a few presses to buttons on the screen.

"What?" he asked blankly. "Mommy want you to retreat back to Vermont?"

Her eyes flashed to his. "No," she said, not wanting to know how he knew that was where she had come from. It was enough that he had forced her to an Upper East Side coffee shop, apparently one identical to hers, with more class. "It's Dan," she shook her head ridiculously, clearly in serious doubt over the message. Chuck raised his eyebrows, humored.

"Humphrey?" he asked, shaking his head at her slow nodding and continued staring at the text message. "It appears you don't even need to go to him." He leaned forwards across the table. "Must have a sixth sense or something," he whispered.

Vanessa scoffed. "Do you want to know the message or not?"

"Why?" he asked, confused. _Would this even be to his benefit?_

"If I need to spell it out—" she began, annoyed now to the highest degree. Chuck gulped, afraid to say the words out loud, but keeping his eyes pinned to the Brooklynite and that gave her all the motivation she needed to continue. Because when it came down to it, cocky or not, annoying or not, someone Chuck cared about was in danger, and somehow _she_ had become a reliable source to help get her out of it – whether dead or alive. Though, she knew Chuck did not doubt her quite alive state. And now, Vanessa was seriously beginning to question what she had immediately accepted.

She sighed, her face softening. "He said he got a text from Blair."

Chuck's eyes widened, his hands stealing away Vanessa's phone away instantly. As he scanned through the message, he knew she had not misinterpreted. When he looked back up to her she was staring intensely at him, probably trying to discover what thoughts were spinning through his head. Though one resounding possibility thrummed through her mind louder than the others.

"She's not dead," he breathed.

"It's a possibility someone stole her phone. Maybe even Georgina," Vanessa shrugged. She didn't want to pull out the negative possibilities, but for the first time since she had sat down with Chuck, they had real, new information, and the seriousness of the situation had all come rushing back. They needed to cancel out all other options. "We can't just assume, however nice it would be, that…" she trailed off, her face turning away and her hand gesturing out and dropping to her side.

"She's not dead," he said again, looking her straight in the eye. Vanessa felt the heat of his gaze on her neck and turned directly towards him again. She could not find it in herself to disagree, and something about the conviction in his voice made her believe.

"No."

* * *

A/N: It is finished! Lol. They say third time's the charm, and I think in this case it is true. *nods* I got my 3rd wisdom tooth taken out today and I didn't feel sick all day, just in pain a bit for the last few hours. I was so very disappointed in myself when I couldn't finish this chapter yesterday. *shakes head* But now it is finished!!! *lol* REVIEW! ;D


	14. Caught Up in Fire

A/N: There has been a serious lack in reviews for this story over the last few days, and it makes me sad! *tear* I mean, I get most of you high schoolers just got back to school, but…must you abandon everything fanfiction related?? *whimpers* *dismisses fact of other fanfiction maybe being read & reviewed XD* Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review. =)

* * *

**Ch.14—Caught Up in Fire**

_The ride to the hotel had been brief, and Mr. Bass had hardly spoken to the blonde sitting beside him. When he first heard word of his new wife and her son being in captivity, he made it the most important priority to find them and make whoever had taken them away from him pay. The fact that the interior decorator his wife had hired knew where they were was definitely surprising and sporadic. In the moment, though, he hadn't questioned it. He was just glad he had a tip-off to where his beloveds were held captive._

_ "Right this way, Sir," Amelia said, leading the way to the suite she had insisted held his family. He followed her without question, though slowed as they reached it._

_ "Who kidnapped them?" he asked, but she wouldn't answer his question._

_ "The front desk won't believe me," she said, sighing. Bart's eyebrows furrowed. "I tried telling the staff here that there are people kidnapped in one of their suites, and I told them it was this one to be exact, but…" she shook her head, looking off into the distance._

_ "All right, well, it's fine. Let's just get in and then we can figure this all out. Whoever has done this will not get away with it."_

_ She nodded, a smirk teasing her lips. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along, Mr. Bass," she said, almost playfully. He had thought nothing of it. Two hours, three refills of scotch, and a slammed locked door later, he wished he had paid attention to the details._

"I should've known Charles couldn't be trusted."

"Now, dear, we mustn't point fingers," his wife said, laying a few pristine fingers on her husband's shoulder. The tension remained but she refused to remove her hand nonetheless. "I'm sure Charles had nothing to do with it."

"He could have stopped me if he had known," Bart nodded along, squeezing his eyes shut in an effort to block out the memory that contradicted every word now pouring out of his mouth.

_Amelia walked forward and slid her hand along the front of Chuck's shirt. "Oh, we know each other __**very**__ well," she winked at him._

_ Mr. Bass looked at his son. "I thought you were past all this, son."_

_ Chuck scoffed. "I am," he fiercely removed Amelia's hand and pulled his father aside. "We can't trust her," he whispered._

_ Bart looked at him in disbelief. "No, apparently the one we can't be trusting is you."_

_ Chuck looked at him in shock. "What?" Just then two men came from around Chuck and shoved him into a nearby vacant room. "What's going on?" he asked, trying to fight them off._

_ "I'm leaving," Bart said. "Amelia is going to accompany you here as soon as she tells me the whereabouts of Lily and Eric. From there we will discover Blair's whereabouts and bring them safely home. Hopefully by then you will have decided to reconsider your lifestyle."_

_ Chuck stood agape. "You don't even know this woman! How do you know what she's capable of?!" the door was slammed shut in his face and he was thrown against the bed as the two men exited the premises._

"I'm sure he didn't know, dear."

"So, he slept with her but he had no clue she was a kidnapper?" his eyes narrowed. Lily bit her lip, unsure of really how to lessen her recently wedded husband's anger. They had been in the hotel room for a couple days now. Somehow they all managed to fall asleep at the end of the day and when they woke, there was enough food in the small cupboards and mini-fridge to last them through the day. The front door and the windows were locked solid – unbreakable – and there was no phone, not to mention any service for their own prospective cell phones. Also when they woke up each morning the maid service had come in and made everything prim and proper. Bart Bass didn't know who the hell the blonde devil was that had shoved him blindly into the room with his wife and stepson…but she was definitely no interior decorator. If she was, it was some lazily created cover job. The room looked horrid.

"You don't know that he slept with her," Eric spat, turning away from his position in front of the window. He had heard this situation over and over too many times to count from the minute they had come. Quite frankly, he was getting sick of it.

Bart cleared his throat. "Eric, I realize that you and my son have begun to…bond, but," he shrugged, letting a sarcastic laugh slip through, "I think you need to take in his reputation…and what he's capable of."

"What's he capable of?" he asked, aghast. Lily held out her hand to her son, wordlessly advising him to calm down. He saw his mother's gesture out of the corner of his eyes and he never was one to go yelling about something that got him angry, but it was ridiculous the amount of disrespect and lack of affection Bart Bass chose to bestow upon his one and only biological son.

Eric cleared his throat. "He's in love with Blair," he said matter-of-factly.

"And yet, he came to me after the two of them were supposed to leave for Tuscany. Amelia herself even let me in on how _well_ she knows my son."

"She's our kidnapper," he said, point-blank and in more disbelief than before. "Why would you believe anything she says?"

"Okay, you two," Lily raised her voice and spread her arms between the two, regardless of their stances on opposite ends of the room. "We're all getting tired of this situation and the inability to get out of it. There is no proof whatsoever that Chuck is a part of this," she said, giving a warning glance in her husband's direction. "Regardless, our helpless situation does not give us the right to bite each other's heads off," she chuckled, clearing her throat and placing her own hand lightly against her neck before letting it slip back to her lap. The two males in the room said nothing more to each other, but the tension was still thick, and she sighed because of it.

* * *

"Chuck," Dan said blankly, with a hint of surprise. Vanessa's eyes closed in the agony of the moment. She had _not_ been looking forward to this moment, but Chuck was nothing if not persistent.

"Yeah, don't ask, just – let's," she sighed, giving up on her own speech. Dan put his hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes.

"Humphrey, you received a text from Blair," he said, matter-of-factly. Dan raised his eyebrows and dropped his hand from Vanessa's shoulder.

"Why don't we, uh…" Dan gestured his hand around, trying to suggest something for what he had no words to explain. Chuck rolled his eyes.

"And this is why I don't live in Brooklyn," he muttered, turning the two of them around and pushing them down the street into a buzzing restaurant. Somehow Chuck managed to find them a quiet corner and timely service. Not that Dan and Vanessa ever found the typical service in Brooklyn bad or unsatisfactory, but _this_ service was simply impeccable.

"Looks like we came to the right place," Dan murmured, in awe of his new surroundings. Chuck sighed, holding back that it was _him_ alone that made their seating and service so much better than either of the Brooklynites had ever experienced.

"Blair."

"Oh, right!" Dan's eyes widened, and he pulled out his phone. "This is what she sent me." He scrolled down the screen on his phone until he found the message, and then he handed the device across the table over to Chuck.

**Humphrey, I've got a job for you. Talk to C for G's whereabouts.**

** -B**

Chuck's eyebrows furrowed, and he brought the phone closer to his face. Both Dan and Vanessa analyzed him. None of the three paid attention to the waitress who occasionally walked by. Chuck shooed her off and finally he looked up at the boy and girl sitting across from him.

"Well?" Vanessa asked. She hadn't said a word since they got there, and had only shot Dan warning glances when he handed over the phone. At Chuck's reaction she had gotten worried. Nothing really seemed to faze Chuck Bass, except when she had almost "published" that tape that would've shook the UES teen world. She was kind of glad that the secrets from the tape actually came out. Someone who did things like that shouldn't go unpunished. Besides, she had yet to see real feelings on this young billionaire heir. Though, if there was any hint of a heart in him, she could see it in his concern for Blair.

Chuck looked up and instantly saw the curiosity in Dan & Vanessa's eyes. He held his breath, wondering if he should tell them anymore. He figured it was deserved since they had helped him so much already, whether willingly or not. Also, the fact that both Nate and Blair had clearly come up with the idea for Dan to get involved. That would not allow for Dan's disappearance from the situation any time soon.

"She's got a plan for you, Humphrey. That much is obvious," he slouched in his chair. When he said nothing more for the next few moments, Dan leaned forward. Vanessa didn't move. She seemed lost in a world of her own.

"What am I supposed to do, Chuck? Georgina ruined mine and Serena's relationship with each other. She lied and caused havoc. I'm not going to go through something like that again willingly."

Chuck pursed his lips. "You have two options, Humphrey. Either come with me now and I'll make preparations for you and I to fly over to Whoregina's whereabouts and take her down…willingly, or I will have to take you hostage myself and put a price on your head that your father will have to pay if you do not do exactly everything that I say."

Dan looked him dead in the eye, and then chuckled. He shook his head and then turned to Vanessa, spotting her wary glance. His face fell into seriousness and he looked back at Chuck.

"A-Are you serious?" he asked, aghast. Chuck blinked, unmoving. Dan's eyebrows narrowed then and Vanessa could tell he was about to blow up. She put her hand delicately yet firmly in the crook of his elbow when he started to lean forward. He turned back to her again, saw her worry and realized the need to conceal himself and at least attempt to relax. His shoulders slumped and she released him. He looked back at Chuck, the tension in him wading towards the surface, but he kept Vanessa's concerned eyes in the back of his head and slowly eased back to his normal demeanor.

He had wanted to shout at Chuck, to tell him he had _no right_ and shouldn't be demanding such things out of someone who had just gone through such _trauma_ and _heartbreak_. He had given him no way out, and essentially forced him into the situation. Chuck's eyes were cold and dark, and Dan felt like a prisoner.

"I wouldn't ask this of you, or anything of you for that matter, if it wasn't absolutely necessary," Chuck said, cutting off what appeared to be Dan's next attempt to speak. Chuck straightened his position in his seat. "Before you got that text," he avoided his gaze momentarily, "I got confirmation of a crash involving a Bass helicopter, of which Blair and an employee of my father's company were supposed to have been on. The Bass men, being billionaires, have the best P.I.s around for whatever information may need to be acquired." His eyes focused back in on the two who seemed to be mesmerized by what he was saying. "There were reported to be no survivors, and now suddenly out of the blue, Blair sends you a text."

He leaned forward. "I don't want to do this, but I have to. Blair's life is at stake and I refuse to lose her. I will not let any friction between the two of us be the reason Blair didn't come home. Now, are you coming willingly or not?"

Dan and Vanessa blinked. This was a whole new territory and just moments earlier Dan was going to go willingly just for the sake of saving his father a chunk of money that he probably wouldn't have been able to afford in the first place. But adding to that now was the vulnerability he had seen in Chuck's eyes for no more than a second.

_He loved her._

"Well?" Chuck asked, cocky in his own nature, but honestly not wanting to go the hard way around. The whole situation had been difficult enough already. Dan's deep exhaustive exhale and the way he ran his hand through his hair did not look to be a promising sign of what was to come. Then he looked up at him though, and it was all so clear.

"Willingly."

* * *

The room was nice enough. It was nothing like her bedroom back home. There were no silk comforters or perfectly coordinated colored walls and dressers. There was no Dorota rushing about to make everything perfect and keep it that way. There were no chocolates. There was no Chuck. But the room was near the top of a five star hotel. She really couldn't complain.

"Well, Snow White, welcome to your new home," Georgina smirked mischievously.

"You kidnapped me just to keep me in a lavish hotel room?" she questioned suspiciously. Her kidnapper made no attempt to alter her expression or move about in any way.

"I have my purposes," she replied simply. Blair rolled her eyes and walked across the room, implanting her body swiftly onto the bed.

"Of course," she muttered.

"That TV," Georgina pointed to the large flatscreen high up on the wall in the middle of the room, "has one channel, and it cannot be turned off."

Blair's nose scrunched up and her eyebrows fused in disgust. _What fun is that?_

"It's a web camera, so to speak," she said, beginning to pace slowly, as if to make some dramatic point. "I'll be in another suite somewhere in the hotel. You won't know where, and yes, I think that'll be for both our benefits," she cleared her throat, ignoring Blair's eye-roll. "Whenever I want to talk to you or see what you're up to, make sure you haven't found some mysterious way to break out of this securely locked…suite," she shrugged her shoulders cheerily, "I can, through this television."

Blair's eyes scanned the room, not making any attempt to give Georgina her full attention. _So, she was being watched and she could never leave. Typical scenario._

"So, can you like…_leave_ now?"

Georgina smiled wide, and evil, Blair thought.

"I wouldn't be pushing me out the door just yet, Princess."

Blair rolled her eyes again. "And why the hell _not_?" She raised her eyebrows. Georgina walked towards her and let her hand slip into the brunette's long locks. Blair slapped her away immediately.

That sick smile of her kidnapper stayed for a moment longer before it vanished and the most twisted cruelty rested in Georgina Sparks' eyes.

"I would be a little nicer to the person who's holding you captive, Blair Waldorf."

Blair blinked, unchanging. "Why? What could you possibly do to me? You can't threaten to kill me, because if you wanted me dead you would have let me die in the helicopter crash."

"Oh, I wasn't thinking of a physical death, love," she smirked.

Blair's eyebrows furrowed. Now she was confused.

"Emotional is more what I think you might find insufferable."

She continued to look at her with confusion. She didn't think Georgina would do something as drastic as causing harm to Chuck or Serena or her Daddy. Anything else just seemed impenetrable to said Blair Waldorf. Georgina shook her head and sighed. She took a step back and turned towards the door.

"I drugged Serena against her will several times before she told you anything, and I've done it again just recently," she smirked when Blair's lips parted and a tiny glint of fear appeared in her eyes.

"But…you wanted to be her friend…" she said slowly, looking away, her eyes darting across the floor as if she was desperately trying to figure something out. Something wasn't adding up. Georgina was taking small steps, drawling as she did it, to some sort of big explosion that her captive wouldn't be able to handle.

"I wanted Party Girl!Serena back, I wanted to be her friend," she smirked devilishly. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Both stayed frozen in their place. Georgina would not look away, and her stare brought Blair to a more palpable fear. She couldn't look away either. All she wanted was to get out of there, to believe this was all a dream.

"What do you _want_?" Blair asked, her voice a hoarse whisper. The air was too thick. Georgina was too close. And suddenly out of nowhere she wanted to back as far away from her as she could and just cry. She wanted to find herself in the bathroom and stick her finger down her throat, because even that pain and awful habit would be better than half to stare into the devil's eyes.

Georgina shrugged, finally moving away from Blair's slinking form. "That's for me to know," she chuckled a bit. "Besides, I don't give my secrets out that easily." She winked at her and was to the door, her hand just above the doorknob before she turned back around. "Chuck Bass."

Blair's eyes widened, more terrified than she had been thus far. "He doesn't care about me, so what would you want with him?"

Her captor's eyes glistened and her twisted smirk grew into a full-brimmed smile. "Oh, I didn't say he didn't care about you…" her eyes widened in superior joy and an overwhelming feeling of victory over her clear new intake of knowledge. "…I just said he couldn't be faithful."

Blair's heart leapt in her throat at her initial words. There was some hope there, especially since she had been hoping her own words were a lie that she had just told Georgina. She wanted the Gossip Girl posts to be untrue, to be a hoax. She wanted Chuck to be as in love with her as she was with him. There was no point denying it anymore. She was head over heels in love with Chuck Bass. All during the Van der Bass wedding, she had been seeking for a way to get Vanessa out of the way and get her "soul mate", Nate, back. But Chuck fought for her, and now he was all she wanted.

Blair hardly noticed the twinkle in Georgina's eyes or the fact that she had turned back towards the door. When the silver handle turned however, and the light of the hallway streamed into the room, Blair focused back on the bitch that thankfully had decided to leave her alone, if only for awhile. She had turned back towards her again, and the fear wallowed back up in Blair's stomach.

"You're in love with him," she smirked, "aren't you, B?" she mocked her nickname. Blair's eyes narrowed and she was about to speak when Georgina stifled a light laugh. "That's what I have on you, Snow White. Chuck Bass."

The door shut, and Blair's eyes dropped to the floor. The tears that had threatened to well up in her eyes finally came to the surface and one by one dripped out. She hated that she was so easily brought to tears since the true nature of Ben and his "sister" had been brought to her attention. Georgina hadn't even let her deny the truth. Though she knew she would have never been able to deny it now. Not when she had come to the belief in it herself only recently.

She wiped at her eyes and finally rushed to the bathroom to dab at the swollen spheres. She saw herself in the mirror and she saw imperfections. She saw everything Chuck never seemed to…

_"Something this beautiful deserves to be seen on someone worthy of its beauty."_

The memory made her cry harder, and actually sobs began to come out. Everything about this was so wrong. She was supposed to be with Chuck in Tuscany. Serena was supposed to be okay. And the only person that should know, at this point, that she was in love with Chuck, was Chuck himself. But no, it was none of this. None of what should be. Serena had overdosed, probably. Chuck was…_being unfaithful? _

She shook her head. "_No_," she murmured, willing it to not be true. But maybe it was, or maybe it would be. She had no idea what Georgina Sparks was capable of. She had a possible plan in mind but right at this moment everything seemed so hopeless and unfixable. Worse than anything else, she feared Chuck was in trouble. And if he _was_ being faithful, and he _did_ know about her situation, he would no doubt be trying to save her.

By doing so, he would step right into the line of fire.

* * *

A/N: Well, that is all for this chapter! =D Please, please, pleeeeease take the time to review! That rectangular button below is there for a reason, and it's not just to look pretty. ;)


	15. Erased Tears and Cooperation

A/N: Hey all, sorry it took me so long to update. I just finally took the time to start reading a book I got for Christmas ("The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon) and I've totally been sucked in. Heheh. So much so that I felt inspired and quite motivated to write fanfiction for it! (I even got the site to create a new sub-category for it! =D) I encourage you to go read that story I've started, and don't let your nonexistent knowledge of the book hold you back! I am more than willing to explain in detail what has happened thus far, especially since my story begins closer to the beginning of the book. ;p Anyhow, that is why this chapter is delayed. Hope you still read and review. Much appreciated. ;)

*as always, I own nothing.

* * *

**Ch.15—Erased Tears and Cooperation**

Hours later, the tears had finally subsided, and Blair sat silent and shivering beside the bathtub, facing the toilet. She had overcome the need to purge many times since she last saw Georgina, but she feared if she went back out into the main room of the suite and saw that devil's face on the TV with no capability to turn off _or_ change the channel…she would not be able to hold back.

Soon enough though, Blair grew hungry, and so she forced herself to stand up – wishing it was Chuck pulling her to her feet – and walked to the mirror to wash her face – wishing Chuck was behind her for her to fall into, wishing his words of admiration could be whispered into her ears. She opened the door and walked back out into the main room. The bed was a bit crumpled, as she had left it, and everything else was the same as well. For a moment she wondered if the food or drinks were poisoned. But she reminded herself again – just as she had done with Georgina – that the fear of death was useless in this situation. _It made the kidnapping even more absurd. What did she want?_

The little mini-fridge sat on its own in the corner of the little mini-kitchen. It was clean and neat and spoke of its four star quality in every inch of its cold, black metal. Yet, there was nothing inside, and again the thought occurred to Blair that Georgina might be trying to dispose of her, via starving. _But it could not be the case_, she told herself. Something wasn't adding up.

"Couldn't find anything plentiful to eat, B?"

The cheery voice sent chills up Blair's spine, and slowly she turned around to face the television. She shut the small door of the fridge as she did so, and did her very best to glare into the eyes of her only true enemy, in all of her life, she guessed.

"I'm not, dear. You just have to play by my rules is all," she shrugged happily, that too wide of a smile seeming unable to snap off her face.

"Your rules," Blair said blankly.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded her head slowly, pointing with her finger to one of the corners beside the fridge. Blair turned to look and found a small note with instructions. The words were some sort of riddle and they confused her. She could almost hear the eye roll so obviously joined with Georgina's judgmental sigh on the television.

"Start under the pillow, Waldorf."

Blair glared at her once she was turned around again, and walked casually over to the bed, lifting up the pillow to find a small scrap of paper with some sort of scribbled message on it.

"There are ten," Georgina said, grabbing a chair for somewhere in her own room and sitting down on it as she watched her hostage attempt to figure out the message of her first clue. She was so clearly enjoying the experience, and Blair was sure it couldn't have been much worse if she had been standing right there in her room watching her.

"What is this? A freaking scavenger hunt?" Blair asked, looking back at Georgina annoyed. Her kidnapper just shrugged, posing an indifferent demeanor temporarily.

"You want to eat, not me."

Blair rolled her eyes and turned away from her, needing the solace of the blank white wall. _This was ridiculous._ She could have given up right then. She'd starved herself before, and it could definitely be accomplished again. But she did want to eat, and somehow that seemed a safer refuge than sitting on the bathroom floor with her eyes pinned to the toilet. Though perhaps eating would drive a purging need further than sitting across the tempting device ever could.

She pushed the thought aside and finally allowed herself to analyze the scribbles on the tiny scrap of paper clearly. She gulped hard at what it said. She should have known Georgina would gather up and use every weakness against her, though she still did not know what the point of this all was. That fact alone drove her crazy; _she was half out of her mind!_

"What is this?" she asked again, her voice lower, quieter, lost almost. Her hand shook and finally she dropped the message on the bed, pressing it deep into the covers so it could not easily be seen. Georgina was smirking on the screen when Blair saw her again. She could only imagine how vulnerable she must look.

"I…" her eyebrows furrowed suddenly, and Blair blinked impatiently. She was sick of the games, and she didn't appreciate being toyed with. Somehow she had to get her fervor back, her power in this twisted situation.

"What?" she barked, "Is your masseuse at the door?" Georgina had turned her head to the side and Blair could tell she had marched off to what appeared to be an intercom beside the door. The last thing she needed was Georgina getting serviced on the wide screen while she rummaged about in the suite in search of little messages that insulted, evoked insecurities, and somehow gave directions as to the destination of some sort of food.

_Always thinner you want to be, never the image the highest pedestal expects, discover satisfaction in your deepest hunger, when you reach the pallet's gasp. _

Her eyes closed in the words that wouldn't erase themselves from her memory. She would have rolled up and ripped the paper to shreds if it did not show a hint of weakness and she didn't need it to find her small treasure. She already felt like she was reverting to the desperation of a cave woman. She would not let her heart fall captive to it.

But Georgina, for all her manipulations and correct conclusions in how she would feel, could not grasp how her next action would not be her own benefit, but the beginning of her downfall. She pressed speaker.

"Oh B…" she began. Blair's eyes flashed back to the shining face on her TV screen. She said nothing, but watched in anger.

"I'm sorry? Miss Sparks?" a strange man on the intercom asked, confused.

"Oh, Jerry, I'm back. Now, what was it you just told me?" her eyes glittered. Blair huffed, counting down the seconds until the taunt would end.

The man cleared his throat. "There's a…uh, Dan Humphrey to see you, Miss," he acknowledged again. "He says, you, uh…" he cleared his throat again, obviously trying to determine what the young man had said. "He says that you were right, and that…you _do_ have a connection?" he asked, seeming very unsure.

"Thank-you, Gerald," she smiled wide, ignoring the man's exhaustive exhale. "I'll be down right away." He mumbled something of politeness, Blair was sure, but it was clearly ignored by Georgie's now even more enthusiastic nature. She silenced him with a touch of a button.

"You'll have to excuse me, B."

Blair smiled angrily, trying to keep her genuine expression at bay. Georgina was obviously too consumed in herself and whatever she believed to be happening, to consider her victim's quirks carefully.

"It seems my efforts in entrapping poor Daniel from Serena's snare were not all for a lost cause," her eyes sparkled as she bounced off towards the door. Blair lamely raised her hand up to wave her off, but the tyrant was oblivious. Her door slammed and Blair ran to the message, ripped it up into shreds and threw it in the trash. Maybe she was being ambitious, and this all meant nothing or was some sort of scam. But she _had_ sent Dan a text, and she _had_ told him to talk to Chuck about _Georgina's_ whereabouts.

_Coincidence?_

* * *

It had been at least half an hour since Nate had forced his mind to focus on other topics – other _people_. He came storming back into Serena's hospital room less than fifteen minutes after he had made his dramatic exit, and demanded to know the number of Serena's private investigator. It was obvious she wanted to discuss what had been talked about before he had left, but Nate avoided the topic at all costs and soon enough Serena succumbed to his demands. The way she had beat around the bush and joked about not having a private investigator _herself_ did not deter Nate's determination in the least.

Eventually, when Serena saw all her attempts to make Nate relax or at least talk to her about what _they_ _were_ fail, she became serious. She tried to offer up Bart Bass's private investigator, but it seemed the man would not speak to anyone but his own client, and since neither Serena nor Nate were blood related, even _that_ could not be offered up as an excuse for information. Lily had only talked to her about a private investigator once, for a unique case that she hadn't even allowed herself to get into detail about then. Surprisingly Serena remembered the number though, and the man, after some bribery, was coerced into giving information. He would only talk to Serena at first, but when Nate offered up the _Vanderbilt's_ as his family name and informed the man of Serena's sickly state, he conceded and agreed to talk with him.

Nate trudged back out into the hallway, which luckily was now empty. He blocked out of his mind how dejected Serena looked as she lay back against her pillows. She had helped him so much just now and he had barely given her a second glance. His mind had shifted from _Serena or Vanessa_ to _Find Lily, Bart & Eric_. He was determined to keep it that way. Chuck was clearly on the progressing mission to find Blair, using Dan and Vanessa as bait probably. He didn't like the idea, but he wouldn't put it past his best friend. It wasn't like he was fond of the twosome from Brooklyn.

"Sir—"

"Mr. Archibald, I don't think there's much I can tell you. You're not Lily Van der Woodsen, after all, and…"

Nate closed his eyes in frustration. "Mr. Nextler, there are people who are kidnapped," he said seriously and slowly, emphasizing each word. The older man's mouth snapped shut. "We're not going to the police just yet, because of the scandal I'm sure it would produce. You know the Upper East Side and how much more complex finding the rest of the Van der Woodsen-Bass family would be if it became a public issue."

"Son, I don't think—"

"Frank."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Don't call me by my first name, Mr. Archibald. You may be part of one of the richest families on the Upper East Side, but you aren't my client, so if you want to know anything, I would be a little more respectful."

Nate scoffed softly, so as not to roughen the man's mood further. He was the most uptight private investigator he had ever spoken to. There had been quite a few over the last few months, though he tried not to dwell much on it. But this man was turning his words against him. He was clearly trying to use his age as leverage to keep his secrets. He was good at his job, that much Nate knew. But he wasn't backing down.

"I apologize, Sir. Please, inform me on anything you feel you can."

The man sighed, trying to twist the polite way Nate had worded his response in his mind. But part of him wanted to help the boy, and the other part of him was just dumbfounded and a blank slate.

"Young man, I…"

There was no defense.

"Lily Bass and her son were seen entering a limo, almost roughly, by a couple of burly guys, a week and a day after the Van der Woodsen-Bass union."

Nate's eyes narrowed. _Why hadn't this guy gone to the police?_

"About a day following that Mr. Bass was spotted following a petite blonde into a limo."

Nate laughed, and the man paused.

"Do you find this funny, son?"

"No, Sir, I don't," he assured. "I just…" he sighed, "I know the woman. She held Bart's son captive until he managed to escape that same day."

"How do you—"

Nate ran a hand through his hair. "I've been well acquainted with the Bass family since I was young. All of this has made things…complicated, and frustrating lately, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Yes, I'm—"

"Look, Mr. Nextler," he interrupted, hardly caring if the man would threaten to keep his secrets now. "I need to know if you know _where_ they are, or at least in _what_ _direction_ they were heading." The man said nothing, and Nate's eyes squeezed shut in desperation. "_Please_, Sir. There are _lives_ at stake here."

"They're in Vermont," he said. "That's all I know."

Nate's eyes widened and he barely uttered a _thank-you_, before shutting his phone and walking back into Serena's room. She looked up at him expectantly.

"I think we've found them."

* * *

"This is not going to work," she insisted. Chuck rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm not good with trust, Abrams, but trust me. I wouldn't screw up with something involving Blair."

Vanessa scoffed. "And why should I believe you?" she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "You dragged me all the way to Sweden!"

"You didn't have to come," he insisted. "I was just requiring Dan's presence, and you demanded to come along. I wasn't going to complain. Dan's more willing to cave to my wishes with you along anyways."

Vanessa twitched, looking at him suspiciously and then walking across the room, taking a seat on the cushioned chair sitting beside a small table leaning against the peach-red wall. Chuck had walked casually into the hotel when they got there, and asked if a Sarah Thomasin had booked any rooms. The man seemed hesitant to answer the question, but when Chuck made him aware of who _he_ was, or rather, who his _father_ was, the man offered up as much information as he had to get a hold of.

Chuck's private investigator had been good for one thing, when he called him back for more information. Georgina had recently landed somewhere Sweden. The young Bass was well aware of the discreet hotel that she often called her second home. She wouldn't go to a popular hotel or even her own summer home with hostages in tow.

Dan was brought into the back servants' headquarters, while Chuck and Vanessa waited in a small meeting room. The two had begun to bicker five minutes after getting into the room. Vanessa didn't like the fact that Dan was alone, and would _continue_ to be alone with Georgina until Chuck's say-so. Chuck didn't like the fact that she was ordering him around. While he could have cared less about Dan Humphrey, he wasn't going to let him get injured or in a threatening situation that could suggest possible attempted murder. Vanessa didn't seem to think that was enough.

"You don't even know if Georgina will take the bait."

"I do."

"You don't," she insisted, glaring at him from across the room. Chuck narrowed his eyebrows and stood up from his reclining position against the wall by the door.

"You don't have a leg to stand on, Vanessa. You have no skill in manipulations and I never needed you here to begin with. I could have you sent out and back to New York in a second."

She pursed her lips angrily. He watched carefully for her next move.

"I'm not completely faulty in scheming," she spat. He scoffed.

"Your whole attempt at revealing my scheme with Blair earlier in the year was pathetic," he said simply. "Sure, you appeared to have power, and I admire you for your façade. But you really had nothing to gain."

"It was good material," she argued.

He shrugged. "It was a teen scandal. That's normal on the Upper East Side."

She shook her head, furious at the smug, rich boy she had decided to tag along with. She had wanted to go along with Dan, or at least stay in the car, but Chuck had insisted both would be suspicious. She definitely couldn't be with Dan when he reunited with Georgina. Then she would for sure sense some sort of conspiracy.

She should've stayed home, stayed in New York City, in Brooklyn. But Dan was her best friend, and the whole situation worried her. Dan had been connected to Serena, who was now connected to this whole big mess. It was too big to think about and so Vanessa only focused on what really seemed to matter, which was Dan. Chuck was toying with her. He was trying to get her to leave because he didn't want her there. As much as his presence drove her insane in the most unlikeable way, she wasn't going to leave – not until Dan was sent marching home.

She stood to her feet and walked to the wall that wound around and proved to be a secret place to those who did not know of it or were not well acquainted in the room. Neither of those things had applied to Chuck and Vanessa, who had been waiting in there for over an hour. Suddenly she turned around and flashed her eyes into Chuck's. He seemed to be expecting it, and that thought scared her. She brushed it aside.

"Blank tape," she said.

"What?" he asked, confused, if only for a second.

"Blank tape," she repeated. This time she sported a cocky grin. The scoff that erupted from him did nothing to dampen her spirit. "I gave you a blank tape."

His face smoothed over, as if he had known or the fact didn't bother him in the least. She took a step towards him, but he stood his ground. His stance was casual and he did not look threatened. She was from _Brooklyn_ after all, and she was not invited. _What threat could she hold?_

"_And_," she took another step closer, noticing the single tiny twitch that dampened his tight-lipped smirk. "I used the money you gave me to create a medical grant for teens with genital herpes…"

His smirk relaxed.

"…in your name."

"Well done, Abrams." He turned away from her and went back to leaning against the wall by the door. She was still smirking, even more so by the fact that she knew he had been aware of the tape. He had no comeback when she brought it up and that boosted her comeback even more.

"While I don't really hold much respect for you, still, I will pretend you don't live in Brooklyn and reside mostly around the Humphrey residence just this once."

Her eyes narrowed now, as he closed his, clearly relaxing in the new atmosphere he had created. She was now offended and he was neutral, if not pleased to be back in his natural habitat – in power, as he felt he should be.

"You did have Blair and I pretty pissed until we devised our separate plans."

She gaped, and when finally recovered, Vanessa cleared her mind and almost began a new argument when a double-knock at the door held her tongue. Chuck turned around, and opened the door a crack.

"Miss Thomasin and Mr. Humphrey have departed the premises, Sir."

Chuck nodded once and dismissed the man.

"Thank-you," he said offhandedly and shut the door softly once the employee had left. He pulled a small device from his pocket and walked towards Vanessa, holding it out to her. "This is a tracking device," he said, not breaking his gaze from her face as she took the item and held it between her thumb and forefinger. "I've given one to Dan so he can be tracked, and since he'll be with Georgina mostly at all times, I can keep a good eye on her and know where my limitations lie in location."

Her eyes flashed up to his. "You've really thought this out," she said, almost surprised.

"I need you to keep this on you, somewhere, in your clothing, or…" he paused, a smarmy smirk impacting itself on his lips. "…you can get interesting." Vanessa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Your reason?" she asked, trying her best to not show more than necessary disgust at having to look at the smug, rich boy standing across from her.

"You're going to follow him."

Her eyebrows narrowed. "You want me to stalk my best friend? Is that really necessary?"

His eyes raked across her face. "For someone who wanted to follow their best friend everywhere and get as far away from me as possible, you sure are resistant to keeping tabs on him from this minute forward."

The disgust unleashed on her face, covering up the nervous exposure she now felt chill through her entire body. "I just think it's too…secretive, that's all," she said, looking everywhere but into his penetrating brown eyes.

"Well, it's your only option," he said, turning back to the door and opening it just a crack, as it had been before. He looked back at her, even though her gaze still stuck to the floor. "I'm going to get Blair, my _girlfriend,_" he said, and that was when her eyes lifted to his. He could see the questions swimming in her eyes, but he would not answer them now, if ever. There had to be a certain mystery contained in the makings and actions of Chuck Bass. He pushed the door open and stepped out, not walking any further into the hall until he watched Vanessa Abrams move through the lobby and climb into the waiting limo.

He turned and looked at the elevators that seemed so close yet so far away. The manager of the hotel had slipped him the card, along with several keys if he had difficulty unlocking the suite he believed Blair Waldorf to be in. The keys to all of 'Sarah Thomasin's' booked suites were now in his possession. Chuck promised a donation to the hotel because of the man's great hospitality.

Now all that was left was saving Blair, and even with shaking legs and frigid fingertips he made it to an empty elevator and pushed the button in for the appropriate floor.

* * *

A/N: Please review! I hope you liked it!! *wishes second scene could've been longer* *could not make self write more* lol


	16. Dangerous Confidence

A/N: So, the reviews continue to decline. *sigh* I would've thought the last chapter would've excited you, but apparently not. Either that or you've all died off. *rolls eyes* On with the chapter though. Please review. =)

* * *

**Ch.16—Dangerous Confidence**

The casual clicking of her green heels, and the unlocking of the silver clasped lock on the door, alerted the Van der Bass family to Amelia's presence. She had been gone for just over an hour and none of them were too pleased to see her and her brimming wide smile that she shone as she walked in through the doorway.

"Well, hello lovelies. I hope you've been having a good day so far," she chirped, slipping the key into the front of her dress. She watched as Bart's eyes traveled to where the golden keys had gone and smirked.

"Better watch your eyes, Bart Bass. Your wife is watching," she winked, and continued on into the room. Lily shifted her gaze hesitantly to her husband's and sighed as he focused his sight on the colored painting adorning the opposite wall.

"I didn't mean anything by it," he whispered under his breath. She nodded and reached forward to grab hold of his hand. His fingers tightened around hers and she tried to find the warmth in it, but found herself unable to.

"I was just trying to discover a way out of this hell hole," he spat. Amelia was seated pleasantly on the couch in the center of the room, flipping through a magazine. She didn't look as if she had heard him, but he knew he couldn't be too careful. She had appeared to be ignorant to their quiet words before and had always ever used the interchanges against them later.

"I know," Lily responded to him, dropping her eyes silently to the carpeted floor beneath her feet. She had been standing beside her husband for hours it seemed, and yet she was still afraid to move. It didn't seem to matter that Amelia was out of the room most of the time. Her guilt was overriding all her sensible judgment, and so she could only stand beside him and hope for the best, even if her mind was ever concealed in a pit of darkness.

"What pleasure do you get out of this?" Eric scoffed.

Amelia turned her head towards the younger boy and smiled. She closed her magazine, crossed one of her legs across the other and adjusted her body so it was facing his. He was standing by the window, just as he always seemed to be when she returned from her little errands. Truth be told, she wasn't doing much when she wasn't inside this room. She just needed a change of scenery, and a need to escape the accusations and threats posed against her.

"You and I are alike, Eric," she said with a smirk. Her eyes raved over his features and her lips parted in a warm invitation. Of course she had been informed ahead of time by her cousin that the young boy before her had recently – at least that was known to the public eye – switched his sexual orientation. That didn't stop her from tempting him in a way he must have fell victim to before.

His face remained transfixed on hers. He was angry, and with good reason, but she appeared unaffected. He said nothing, but his eye twitched for a moment and it encouraged her further.

"We both want what's best…"

Eric scoffed at her beginning.

Bart and Lily were surprisingly quiet at the opposite end of the room by the small kitchen leaning to the right of the door. They simply watched the interaction, but Lily felt Bart's hand twitch against her and his shoulders tense. It would have warmed her in any other situation to know how protective he already was over her son, but now she was just scared. It was the only other emotion she felt besides guilt. It had been that way since they had been kidnapped two days earlier. Maybe it had only been one day. She couldn't remember exactly. It was all a blur.

Amelia paused at the interruption, but continued with a smile and when direct contact was made with the boy glued to the window. She stood to her feet and gently walked around the couch towards him. His feet shifted in their position, but he made no attempt to move.

"…for everybody," she finished. "But we're afraid to do…what our instinct tell us to do," she said, now very close to the windows he stood beside. She walked slowly in a semi-circle around him and analyzed his figure and every move he made. "You wanted to tell people you were a homosexual from the very beginning." His eyes flashed to hers. "But it would be a scandal," she continued, "so you kept it inside until that truth caught up to you and was revealed to everyone you love – and hate," she smirked, "when you weren't looking." Her eyes gleamed.

Lily swallowed hard across the room, her eyes pinned to her son's figure across the room. He was sweating, she noticed, and she was sure Amelia spotted the perspiration as well. Bart stiffened further beside her and she could feel his restless movements beginning to stir again. She tightened her grip on his hand to hold him steady, but she knew even as he did so, he would not keep quiet any longer.

"That's _enough_, Amelia," he said, in an authoritative tone.

The young blonde turned away from Eric and looked at the older man who had spoken to her. Eric was glad to have the heat of her gaze off of him. However confident as he was in _who_ he was, there were still times when he was defensive. Their kidnapper had been right in everything she had said. He would not admit to their similarities though, and she had been interrupted by Mr. Bass before she could reveal the connection, or how she differed rather.

"I don't think I need to analyze you, Mr. Bass," she said, walking across the room as she let her hips sway to the silence. He cleared his throat. "But I can if you like," her eyes flitted across his face. It was stern, cold, and unmoving.

"Release us," he demanded.

She smirked.

"Your punishment for this will be sore, regardless, but I can lessen it if you _free_ us _willingly_."

Her expression remained unchanged. "You don't trust your son. You find him careless, irresponsible, and incapable of change. You don't show him the love and affection he needs because you cannot move past these things."

A huge pause followed, but he would not deny her words. Nor would he let his eyes leave her steady gaze. He hoped he could burn through her like he seemed to burn through every client or possible co-worker under his looming shadow. If she was intimidated, it did not show in how she stood or the words she expressed.

"You think your son," she spoke slowly, "Chuck Bass, is responsible for your kidnapping."

His eyes focused even more intently on her piercing blues and suddenly he felt numb to Lily's touch and Eric's shocked gaze from across the room. Both were hoping he'd deny it, especially the boy standing by the windows. But he did not.

"I know you too, Mr. Bass," Amelia continued to smirk, "but I would reconsider your actions and feelings towards your biological son. I have the ability to end his life if you do not cooperate."

Heat rushed through him, and Lily gulped so hard that it hurt. Eric's heartbeat was thumping so fast it felt like a thunderbolt slamming into his chest. They hardly noticed when their kidnapper absentmindedly picked up the magazine she had been flipping through and moved into the extended bedroom just beyond their reach.

* * *

The ding of the elevator sent a new wave of sweat and cold hallucinated breeze flying over and through him. He swallowed hard as he looked down at the number on the key he held in his shaky hand. He had three keys, to be precise. One gave entrance to an unknown guest. Another held Blair Waldorf in its clutches. And the final was the temporary residence of Georgina _f-ing_ Sparks. Chuck didn't know what he would do if he were to meet Georgina face-to-face. He had never really been a violent guy, but with Blair's life at stake, he didn't know how his intense fear and care of his recently acquired _girlfriend_ would make him react. Now she had endangered both Serena _and_ Blair. And Chuck Bass protects his own, by whatever means are accessible.

The key on the top seemed as good as any. He had a good feeling about it. It was the first he had touched, and the first the manager had told him about. Rumors had been shared from the room service attendants that food had been purchased and "misplaced" throughout the suite. It seemed unordinary to all of them, and something about that tipped Chuck off. With the inscribed code on the clear key pad outside the appropriate room punched in, Chuck held his breath. His curiosity bloomed when he heard the unlocking of three locks and the door silently cracked open. He pulled at the silver knob and stepped inside the luxurious suite.

"Blair?" he whispered quietly, hoping there was no one in the two-room suite that would catch him in what he hoped would be a daring rescue from the hands of Georgina Sparks. If his scheme to pull that evil woman away by the pathetic hands of Dan Humphrey had worked, there should be no reason for him to keep quiet. The situation itself warned him though. Georgina was not to be underestimated.

He closed the door behind him, and called out for Blair again. He moved around the room hesitantly, hoping he had not been deceived by the hotel staff itself. A soft crackling noise was heard from a blaring flat-screen in the center of the wall to his right. It was pure static, and when he looked closer, impossible to turn off. He saw an empty couch sitting at least three to five feet from the giant screen and his heart fell. He began to wonder if all his meticulous planning and research had been all for nothing and that Georgina had just miraculously escaped from the grasp of reformed schooling.

But the he saw some wisps of brown hair, and his eyes widened. Sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of the comfortable, luxurious couch, sat Blair Waldorf, dazed and transfixed on the blank space in front of her. Dried tear tracks were evident on her face.

"Blair!" Chuck whispered, hastily rushing to her side. He sat directly in front of her, hoping she would blink and recognize a block to her impaired vision. When she did not move, he cupped her chin in his hands and tilted her head up. She blinked, once at first and then several times. Her lips parted.

"C-Chuck?" she asked, aghast at the possibility, and bringing her hands up to grasp the ones in which he held her face.

"Yes," he responded, his voice still quiet. "It's me. I've come for you." He held his tears at bay, hardly believing he had actually found her. She leaned her head into the embrace of one of his hands, and tugged at his arms.

"Oh Chuck," she choked, her sobs falling out of her lips before he had a chance to erase them for good. "I thought I…I thought you….I—"

He leaned forward, seeking to find the right words to comfort her, but as soon as he was within reach she grabbed hold of the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers, kissing him passionately like her life depended on it. Like she needed his kisses to breathe. It was as if her death were inevitably soon and if nothing could be done to save her, or any of them, this was what she would remember in the final seconds of her life.

"Blair," he breathed, caressing her scalp with his skilled fingertips and treasuring the feel of her silk curls against his skin once more. He could hardly believe this was happening and nearly all thoughts besides those of Blair evaporated from his mind.

"Make love to me, Chuck," she moaned, sobs still slipping out of her mouth as she kissed him. She couldn't tell if this was all a dream, or if it was for real, but the facts didn't seem to matter. She only knew it wasn't a memory, that it was something new. And she wanted it to be wonderful.

He stood with her, his mouth still attached to her own and guided the two of them to the expensive, beautiful bed. He knew she needed this. Hell, he needed this. It had been too long since he'd held her. Only three days, but still too long. He felt so compelled in that moment to whisper the longings of his heart in her ear. But it was only the time for physical need and security. He would not bring up the topic of where they were, when he had only just found her and discovered her unharmed.

His lips shifted to her neck and collarbone, his tongue flicking in and out to soak in the taste of her all over again. He peeled the light layers of her clothing off one by one, and thrilled in the pleasurable shivers that ran through him when she unbuttoned his top and unbuckled his belt. Her hands roamed all over his body and it chilled him to the bone, but in the most wonderful way. He was warm against her and she held him tight to her body in order to relish and keep all of him to herself. Soon he was moving in and out of her at the most delightful, mind-blowing speeds. She cried out. She bit at his shoulder and guided his hands along her body to forgotten places. She moaned and he growled and it was rough, pounding, animalistic sex. But there was beauty in it for what they had found, and there were words in their movements that might never be spoken.

* * *

The quiet beeping of the heart monitor had lulled Serena to sleep, and Nate sat across the room just watching her sleeping form. He couldn't help but think what little good it was doing to anybody to have him stay where he was. He had tried protesting to Chuck before about wanting to be effective in some other way, but his best friend would have none of it. _Staying with Serena was better than getting involved overseas_, he figured his best friend would say. But Serena was okay now. She was stable. She hadn't fallen into another coma, and Chuck had endangered the lives of two other people because he wanted _Nate Archibald_ to sort out his feelings between Serena and Vanessa.

His conscience sighed testily at Nate with the assumptions he had made. Chuck hadn't in the least had the intentions of making Nate stay behind because of his conflicting emotions. He wanted someone to watch over Serena while she was in her critical condition.

_"But she's not in critical condition anymore," _he argued in his mind.

_ "But she's still in the hospital and so not yet able to be without your protection," _his conscience responded back.

Nate sighed, clearly not finding another defense in what was the most ridiculous waste of time he could have ever imagined. Never in a million years would he have seen himself trying to make excuses to leave Serena's side. But she would ask him about what _they were_ again, and he would not have an answer. He wouldn't have had an answer for Vanessa either, or anyone else that prompted him with such a question.

"Tell me you love me," Serena murmured in his sleep. Nate just blinked at her and shook his head. His hand rushed into his sandy blonde locks and he grabbed fiercely to their roots. It hadn't been the first time her dreams had come forth in jumbled words. He was no longer surprised and forced himself to be numb to its truth.

_She could be talking to __**Dan**__ in her dream, or…_

_ …or Chuck!_

_ No. Not Chuck. Never Chuck._

A nurse came in to refill Serena's small cup of water and Nate's long abandoned coffee mug. They had given it to him free from the gift shop when he had stepped in to find a cute teddy bear and smiling balloon for Serena. She hadn't seen it yet; he had only gone a little while ago. Both items sat in embrace of each other in the corner of the room.

"More coffee?" the nurse asked quietly, trying her very best not to break the spell Serena had cast herself under in the wake of her dreams.

Nate nodded politely and picked up his mug, holding it out to her. She smiled as she poured more of the hot brown liquid into the ceramic forest green mug.

"Cream or sugar?" she asked, seeming to have remembered right before she left the room again. He shook his head.

"No, thank-you," he offered a small smile as she tilted her lips upwards and left the room, shutting the door softly behind her. He placed the cup back on the table where it had been before. He didn't drink coffee, and if he did it was a Starbuck's Frappachino. Any attempt at black coffee would be hideous, he guessed. He would have to add lots of cream and sugar, and probably request whatever flavor mix they had that equaled that of a cheap latte. He knew they'd bow to his wishes immediately, just for his name, even if it had been corrupted in the papers.

But he didn't ask for it. He didn't want it. And as soon as he was sure the nurse was done lurking outside the door – because she always ever seemed to be waiting for a request, for some way to help – he would walk inside to the private bathroom in Serena's room and dump out the dark liquid. Coffee would, in no way, help with anything. At some points while he sat in quiet solitude on his chair in that room, he wished to be in Serena's place. To be dreaming. To be decisive. To not have an agenda. She was always such a free, beautiful creature in that respect.

Again she murmured in her sleep, her head tossing a bit on her pillow. Nate straightened in his seat. His eyebrows furrowed in concern. Dreams were only wonderful until they became nightmares you couldn't escape. He sank back into the previous position, though still relatively straight, when she quieted. There was nothing for him here, he told himself. And he was sure he could do much better elsewhere.

_But who will stay here with her?_

_ What will she do, how will she feel, when she wakes with no one beside her?_

_ She wants you here. She __**needs**__ you here. Don't leave._

He blocked all the reasoning out as it threatened to tear him apart. He stood to his feet and dumped out the hot coffee, just as he had told himself he would. He paced a little, thrumming through the two options in his mind again. There was no release for him, but somehow there was escape and new territory outside this hotel room.

He went to the door, opened and closed it, and like the gentleman he was, he asked the nurse politely if she would mind staying with Serena Van der Woodsen. The petite brunette blushed at the opportunity and smiled at him with sparkling green eyes. He nodded briefly to her, having made the excuse of something important to be done. Before even reaching the elevator he had dialed Chuck's number and waited impatiently for his best friend to pick up. Endless dial tones greeted him time and time again, yet still he persisted, switching the call to his limo only once for transportation's sake. It was a breath of fresh air and relief when he stepped outside the hospital's lobby and into Manhattan's street. The vigor and energy that encouraged his decision would only build more and more if he involved himself with Chuck's plans. He was sure of it.

* * *

A/N: Hope you loved it. Please, please, pleeeeeeeease review. ;p


	17. Abrupt Awakening

A/N: Well, sorry I've been MIA for awhile. I've just gotten so caught up in the couple books I've been reading, and writing fanfics for those. Heh. In case you were unaware. ;) Anyhow, last night I discovered a tragic CB spoiler for sometime during the second half of S3 and I was just a crazy roller coaster with that, dying because it will happen and feeling content and maybe even excited with how it will help them grow and make us love them even more afterwards. Heh. So, because of that I felt it might be difficult to write something about them…like…before that's over and done with. Heh. **SPOILER ALERT!!** Just because apparently Chuck does something we all hate him for, and it has to do with Jack so it makes it all the more worse. *spits* And CB break up…temporarily. *gulp* **END SPOILER!!** *sighs* Goodness, anyways! I am kind of feeling back into the swing of things, so here is the next chapter. Please review. ;p

* * *

**Ch.17—Abrupt Awakening**

His vision was blurry, and he had to blink a few times and rub at his eyes before his surroundings cleared. He was in a bed, that much was obvious, but the room he was in was unfamiliar. It was dark and enclosed, but warm and comfortable. Though he was lying on a soft bed, there were no covers draped over him and when he moved to sit up, a pounding headache came with it. He brought his hand up to rub at his creased brow, then slowly scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. He spotted a barely noticeable sliver of light across the room at the base of the cracked door.

"Well, well, good morning, Sleep Beauty," Georgina winked as she moved across the room, fishing around in her metallic purse for some particular object it seemed.

Ben rubbed at his eyes and yawned, hardly making eye contact with anything, and just tried his very best not to run anything. "What's got you into such a cheery mood?" he groaned.

She rolled her eyes, and spotted the item she was looking for sitting on the opposite end of the counter her purse sat. She snatched it up and dropped it carelessly in the purse. She moved to the bathroom then, scrunching her nails in through her hair until it looked near flawless. Then she applied the lip gloss to her plain lips and made a popping sound with her mouth. Ben's eyebrows furrowed, feeling the noises she was making were beyond strange, as far as he could tell. He'd be sure not to mention the off-key humming she had indulged in during her the making up of her appearance.

"Where are you going?" he asked when she was inches from the door. She stopped and turned around to look at him, her hair swirling about her as she did so.

"Out," she said simply, her lips quirking up at the corner. He looked at her confused.

"Out," he repeated blankly. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes," she said, walking towards him. "I think I deserve it," she shrugged. "After all, you failed horribly in bringing Blair to me. I mean, almost crashing the helicopter? That's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

He scoffed. "It's not like I _planned_ it. And besides, wasn't it more in your benefit to have Blair in your…clutches, rather than with your 'careless' brother?" He was annoyed, but it was nothing to her and she just scrutinized his face with her beady little eyes.

"Well, I'm going," she spun around again, dismissing his excuses. She paused again before the door and seemed to be really agitated for a little over a second. Then it was gone. Somehow he knew it was in regards to something she wanted to tell him, but he said nothing, figured it was for his own good. "Humphrey's waiting for me," she said cheerily, turning back to him once more with a big smile on her face.

"Humphrey?" he asked, confused again. He _hated_ this about his sister. She was mischievous and devious and it was admirable, but she was downright the most confusing and complex human being he had ever met. He had lived with this girl practically his whole life. She was always getting into trouble and never getting caught – except this once. He thought she might be upset or that her ego might be bruised, but kidnapping seemed a step too far, and it made her all the more complex.

"Dan Humphrey, the little boy I used to show S exactly what she was getting herself into," her eyes twinkled. Ben shook his head at her incredulously. As admirable as she was, he also found her completely insane. She always overdramatized how things happened and what she planned to do in regards to them. He would have said something more, but a muffled voice was heard across the room and his gaze shifted.

Georgina's eyes widened and she ran across the room to gather up her phone in her hand. "Dan?" she asked, clarifying that it was still him on the other line.

"Georgina," he stated, confused, having almost panicked when she didn't respond to his greeting five minutes prior. "What happened?"

She giggled lightly. "My brother just distracted me," she shrugged, ignoring the bizarre look on Ben's face across the room. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he scanned the room, and tuning out her continued conversation. He spotted the giant TV screen and camera attached to it. If he didn't know any better, he'd think it was Blair sleeping on the large bed in the corner of the TV screen. He squinted when his eyes deceived him into thinking she had three or four arms and legs, instead of just two each. He shook his head and looked away. _That headache was just messing with him_…

He only hoped it was just temporary.

Looking back up at his sister, Ben noticed an affectionate glint to her eyes. She had been many things over the years, but genuine had not usually been one of them. It took a moment for him to recognize that look for what it was.

"I was out with him a few hours ago," she clarified, talking to her brother more like he was one of her employees or co-workers rather than her own flesh and blood. "In the excitement," she looked away, momentarily smiling, "I must have forgotten my purse, and…" she pondered, "other things." She sighed contently. "So, I'm off again." She walked towards the door once more, not waiting for a single word to be said. "Stay put, Ben," she called back. "You've messed up _enough_ already."

The door closed behind her, and he shook his head at what must have been her retreating form. His eyes narrowed. She treated him like complete trash, and he wouldn't even be surprised if he had misinterpreted her 'genuine' look for something it wasn't. There was hardly a single soul that was anything but a pawn to her for as far back as he could remember…this _Dan Humphrey_ would be no different.

……………………………………………

Her curls were glorious – shiny, like silk, soft as the down feather of his pillows back home. His nose breathed them in and out, glorying in their heavenly scent. His arm was wrapped securely around her waist and a few breaths always got lost in his throat whenever she made even the slightest murmur or sigh. He couldn't believe he had dismissed her for that blonde home-wrecker. Only one week earlier he had been inspired and made an envied best man's toast at his father's wedding. When he spoke of true love, he didn't know if his heart was entirely in it in regards to his father and Lily, but when he gazed into Blair's eyes just a table away, he knew it was in regards to her, or would be soon after. Nothing his father said should have changed that, scared or not.

"Mmm, Chuck," she murmured, turning towards him and tucking her head into the crevice of his neck. His heard skipped a beat.

_"So, you said you loved her…"_

He gulped, hoping it wouldn't wake her. He couldn't remember when he first realized it was more than just butterflies, but he knew whether he had been angry and vengeful or not, he had still loved her. It had just all been tossed up to the wind after what his father had said. He hoped that was no longer the case. _How could he still be scared when he felt so content just lying here beside her?_

_**Bzz!**_

__Chuck sighed, annoyed that something had broken into his peaceful moment with Blair. His hand moved over the opposite side of the bed and grabbed hold of his phone. _He couldn't let this one go_. After he got the information he needed from this call, they had stayed too long already. He hadn't been blinded to the large TV screen and mini-camera placed in the center of the long wall before them. He had just been so relieved to have found her, and unharmed at that. When she started kissing him, he was a poor sailor lost at sea, and however stupid it had been to stay, he couldn't make himself leave, not even with her in tow.

"Vanessa!" he answered into the phone, after having untangled himself from Blair's warm body and walked across the room. He tried his best to not be too loud, but the Brooklynite would get suspicious if he was acting too out of the ordinary, if she even knew what his norm was to begin with. _Doubtful._

"You sound…happy to see me?" she asked, her brow crinkling.

_Damn it. Too excitable. _

"No," he said, trying not to sound angry as his alter-ego laughed in his face about how being around Blair caused him to lose a few brain cells on occasion.

The line was silent, and he blinked to bring himself back to focus.

"Did you find anything out?" he asked, hoping she was still there and hadn't abandoned him for his idiotic mannerisms, however temporary they might be.

Vanessa sighed and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Dan and Georgina just left for their second date," she nodded along, clearly bored with her disposal of information.

"_Second_ date?" he asked, confused, and thus deciding to ignore the manner in which she said it. "It's only been a few hours," he continued, glancing down at his watch just to be sure. "Five hours to be exact."

She sighed again, sounding even more bored this time. "Yes, I know. Apparently she forgot something in her suite," she gestured her hand into the air and then dropped it down to her side like it was a heavy weight.

Chuck's eyes widened. _Her suite?!_

"And, in case you were _worried_," she laughed at the thought, "Or just plain got caught up in the tryst I'm _sure_ you had, Georgina's suite is not the one where Blair is located."

His eyebrows narrowed, deciding not to try and figure out how she had deciphered his thoughts, and why she was still sounding so bored. _Plus, how did she figure out which one Blair had been in? He had merely guessed! _He shook his head, putting many things on hold for the moment it seemed.

"Where are they headed?"

She sighed again. It made him want to strangle her.

"Some park, just like before," she shrugged.

"A park?" he asked incredulously, almost spitting up the words.

"Mmhmm," she confirmed, yawning thereafter. Finally, he was unable to handle it.

"What is _wrong_ with you, Brooklyn?"

She blinked. "Nothing," she insisted, her eyes narrowing. She knew he wasn't convinced. "I'm just bored," she emphasized. He sighed.

"Well, snap _out of it_. This is the most exciting thing you'll probably ever end up doing. Call back when something worth talking about actually happens." He snapped the phone shut. He exhaled, frustrated that the girl who had been screaming at him five hours earlier, now could hardly care less.

Blair was looking at him very seriously when he turned back around to look towards the bed. She blinked at him and it beckoned him to come closer. He walked slowly towards her and instinctively picked up hand once he was within reach, kissing it gently. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment and then she looked back up into his endearing face.

"Chuck."

He sighed, nodding. "We need to talk…" her lips parted, "…about what happened."

Her head tucked down for a moment, and she reached up with her other hand to grasp his arm and pull him to her. It warmed her to feel his skin mix with hers again. It wasn't till that moment that she realized he had clothed himself, if only a little, in his rush to answer the phone call. She had shivered when he had left her side. It scared her that he had left, even if she _could_ see him across the room. It was a fear that engulfed her more than the thought of dying on the Bass helicopter or in the grip of Georgina Sparks herself.

She kissed him as he came down to sit with her. Together they leaned against the headboard and his heart sped at the feel of her fingers twirling through the hairs on his chest. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, trying to subtly pull the sheets from the bed farther up her chest. He would get nowhere with serious talk if he a bare-chested Blair sitting right next to him.

"Okay," she said, covering up the smirk that had appeared instantly at the pull he'd made with her sheets. "From the beginning."

* * *

Her eyes opened to display some of her wavy blonde strands before her eyes and the slouched figure in a hospital chair across the room. She smiled contently, and reached out for the cup of water by her bedside. She found it empty and frowned. Not wanting to wake her napping friend, she found the far too large control and pushed in the bright red button with an outlined white nurse cap on it. She wondered if there were any nurses left in the world who still wore those caps as part of their job uniform.

"Miss, is everything all right?" a young, shy nurse asked as she quietly opened the door and walked in towards Serena. She had come through the door in less than a minute, and it honestly shocked and impressed her. The nurse glanced briefly at Nate on her way over and showed a tiny smile in recognition. Serena's brows furrowed for a moment, but then she dismissed it. Nate must have passed by several nurses while in his stay at the hospital.

"Uh," she snapped out of her reverie, "yes, everything's all right. I just…I've got all these wires attached to me, and…" she held up the empty cup to her.

"Oh yes!" the nurse jumped at the opportunity. "I'll be back right away soon," she ensured, nodding too rapidly for the situation. Serena said nothing though and just watched as the nurse moved towards the exit. Nate sat up as she bustled about, and the nurse stopped – just before leaving – and glanced admiringly at the boy.

"I'm glad you reconsidered, Sir."

Nate rubbed at his eyes and looked up at the familiar woman who he had spoken with before. "Hmm?" he asked, slightly panic for the heat he could feel against his neck from Serena's gaze.

"You were going to leave," she paused briefly. Then, looking between the two and seeing the heartbroken look written all over Serena's face, she stopped any further conflicting speech that would have slipped between her lips. "I'm glad you didn't," she said, moving out of the room as quickly as possible without making much of a fuss. The door closed behind her louder than she would have wished.

The hurt was written all over her face. She didn't have to say a word, and immediately Nate felt guilty. The situation was difficult to think through, and he had wanted nothing more than to escape from it. But he was one of Serena's _closest_ friends. He hadn't even made it twenty feet out of the elevator before turning around and coming back up.

"I'm sorry," he said. Her eyes softened and he could see the tears welling up inside the beautiful blue. He hated himself for being the cause behind it.

"No," he said, instantly getting up from his chair and rushing over to her side. He clasped her hand inside his own and shook his head to stop her from speaking. "No, _don't_ say that." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry I even thought of it. It was…_wrong_."

A breathy sigh escaped her.

"You first, Serena. Always you, only you."

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. "Nate—"

"No, I shouldn't have thought twice."

She nodded, smiling warmly, soft and small. It was clear she still felt a mix of guilt and sadness ebbing through her, but she tried to push it down as much as she could. It burned her that Nate wanted to leave her. But she supposed that made her selfish as well, since she only ever wanted to be with him. She did not miss the meaning behind his words. She wondered if that meant deep down that he had chosen her, over Vanessa, and he just wasn't completely aware of it yet.

His lips pressed to her hand, and she relaxed.

"Miss?"

The two turned around and saw the petite nurse from before holding a small cup of water enclosed in her hands. Nate turned back to Serena who was full out smiling again. Now her fingers tingled in his hands. He stood to his feet, and the loss of him cut her to the bone until she realized he was dragging his chair back towards the side of her bed again, only stopping half way to let the blushing nurse back through to the exit – bright red as if she had interrupted some intimate moment.

"I think she's taken a fancy to you, Nate," she teased, sitting up further so as to drink her water without choking. Nate shook his head at her and chuckled. "Did you see her blush?" she asked, hoping the sweet woman couldn't hear their teasing and jests.

"Well, I am pretty irresistible, so…"

She smacked him, and he held up his hands in surrender, a flash of worry crossing his face when he saw the way it pained her to stretch out the wires attached to her limbs. He sat down in his chair and scooted forward, instinctively taking her hands in his own. A million things raced through his head as he looked at her. Eventually, the guilt resurfacing and could not keep his gaze on her steadfast, beautiful eyes. His eyes fell to the bed, felt safe on the lightly freckled arms lying gently across her lap.

_"Chuck, come on, you've got to help me out man—"_

_ "I won't hear of it, Nathaniel."_

_ "But—"_

_ "No. I don't care if she's going to be let out within the next twenty seconds. Georgina put Serena in danger, and all the rest of us are out here trying to save Blair and cage up the diseased animal. Please, just…do this."_

_ He hated when Chuck begged. Chuck never begged. Begging was for insignificant, poor, wanna-be Upper East Siders – and those lesser than them – as his best friend had told him on numerous occasions. _

_ "Georgina did this?" he asked in a weak voice._

_ Chuck sighed. "I have no doubt."_

Lowering his eyes to their intertwined fingers, Nate could hardly believe he would have chosen anything else other than to be at her side.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! I'll try to update soon. ;p


	18. Conflict of Interest

A/N: Review. Lol. I am extremely grateful for those of you who are still tagging along with this story. Thanks a bunch. =)

* * *

**Ch.18—Conflict of Interest**

She frowned as he told his tale, her eyebrows narrowed. It drove him crazy the progression of her facial expressions from curious to concerned and finally ending in sadness and frustration. The thick, unsettling silence that followed made him almost regret telling her to begin with. She hadn't opened her mouth once to interrupt him or ask a question. Now her gaze was lost somewhere amidst the room. All he knew was that it wasn't at him and forgiveness was not written on her lips.

He swallowed hard. "Well, it's probably a good idea if we leave," he began awkwardly, shifting his body and moving away from her. His arm slowly slipped away from her shoulders and he stood completely unsure of what to do next, and what might set her off. "We don't want Georgina finding you here, especially with me."

Blair snapped to attention, as if she had been in a dream throughout his entire explanation and was now determined to complete the next item on her to-do list of getting out _alive_. Her eyes flashed to his figure, and she saw how shaken up he looked as he slowly scanned the room for the rest of his clothing. Now that he had realized she wasn't going to lash out at him, she realized he must have allowed himself to get on with the matter of things.

His head was pounding and he honestly just wanted to die. Saving Blair was the priority, but he had hoped her forgiveness would come along with it. The fact that she was numb to his detailed account and apology cut him deeper than seeing her kissing Nate in the courtyard even after she had spotted his fallen face. He should have known she wouldn't hand out more chances on him, for the simple fact that he wasn't really known for faithfulness or women in regards to women in general. She probably figured she was his guinea pig, his trial run, and that he'd learned from her how to act in a future relationship. Either that or he would revert back to womanizing – the latter only if she had truly broken his heart and not vice versa.

He was so caught up in his depressing thoughts that he didn't even notice and even jumped a little when Blair placed her hands on his waist and decorated his back with kisses. He stilled instantly and gasped. She wrapped her arms fully around him and afterward brought her hand to the curve of his shoulder, tracing the line of his form down to where her other hand still rested. She leaned into him and sighed.

"Oh Chuck…" her head shook gently against him. He gulped, still tense and unsure of what to do, terrified of what might happen should he act incorrectly. Taking a plunge into the unknown, he turned around slowly and found her deep brown eyes pouring into his. He was just barely breathing and at that moment it seemed a sin just to blink.

"Thank-you," she said suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed softly in confusion, and to reassure him she placed her hands around his neck and pulled him towards her in a sweeping, strong kiss. He was caught completely off guard and still confused but his hands grabbed hold of her hips instantly and squeezed.

"I don't understand," he broke away suddenly, shivers flooding through him as she stroked his neck hairs with the tips of her fingers.

"You didn't cheat on me," she laughed lightly, bringing one of her fingers around to stroke his full bottom lip. Her eyes locked with his. "It hurts a little that you almost did, but…" she trailed off, her eyes darting across the room for an instant, "you didn't," she looked back at him, noticing how he was barely breathing, and when he did it was too much. She pressed a kiss to his lips again and it took him a second to reciprocate. "Plus, you came to save me from Whoregina," she chuckled, moving her face away from his. She cupped his face in her hand before turning away. "That's very heroic." She smiled.

He watched as she let the sheet drop from around her and moved about to pull her clothes back on. He wasn't turned on in the least, still trying to comprehend all that had just happened. He had thought it was all over, he really had. And then suddenly she surprised him – like she always seemed to – and all was forgiven. She didn't say the words but a part of him regained the confidence that his rescue of her was more than enough. He hadn't believed at her silence, but her actions following seemed to contradict his doubts.

"Hey, Georgina said she had something on you," she said, coming over to him once she had smoothed out her clothing and fluffed her hair as best as she could. Luckily she had found make-up in the purse she had managed to smuggle along. Though he saw her as the most beautiful when she didn't have a thing on – as perverted as that might sound.

His eyebrows narrowed. "What are you talking about?" he asked, _confused_. He really was sick of that emotion. It was specifically supposed to be designated to _Nathaniel_.

"I don't know," she said, searching her eyes for what she thought might be a hidden answer. "I thought you'd know right when I brought it up. Maybe some form of…blackmail?" her hands gestured about to help him.

"She's bluffing," he said, convinced. She could tell he wasn't hiding anything, at least of that matter, but her eyes still penetrated his. He stared back just as hard. "She doesn't have anything on me, Blair," he said, turning away and gathering up his shirt with which he put on hastily. "Come on, let's go," he said, gesturing towards the door. "I don't know if we escaped that lovely little camera attached to the big screen on your wall over here. If Georgina has evidence that I was here, I'm sure she'll know I helped you escape—"

"Rescued," she corrected, moving after him towards the door. He took a pause, but made no alterations to his sentence.

"—and that can't mean anything good. My plans of taking down the bitch can only be successful if the situation doesn't change."

"Good thing you have your fellow schemer with you then," she smirked.

* * *

The incessant giggling annoyed all contained in the lavish suite, but none of them dared to say a thing. Interacting with their arrogant, seductive kidnapper had proved bad news before and they weren't willing to take their chances again – at least not for awhile.

The twenty-something year old was chatting it up with some boy toy of hers, it seemed. From the matter of the conversation it appeared as though he resided in the hotel itself. _Probably a bellhop_, Bart mused, almost scoffing.

"_What else do you know how to do?_" she moaned into the phone, her voice hot with seduction. Eric's eyes widened and he turned to his mother mouthing _"They're having phone sex!" _ Lily shook her head, pressing two fingers to her temple, trying to block the continued dirty words out of her mind. Bart cleared his throat quietly, trying to maintain a professional demeanor. Frustrated, Eric found a chair and brought it to just before the ceiling to floor windows. He sighed gruffly, sitting in it and glaring out into the city's skyline.

Amelia's annoyed scoff caught their attention, but they didn't dare turn towards her.

"Ben!" she said in surprise, seeming to suddenly worry over the acts she was taking part in. "H-how are you doing? _What_ are you doing? Where _are_ you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion at the last question.

"I just wanted to know you're safe," he said meekly into the phone. She felt the worry in the tone of his voice and a small guilt began to seep into her.

"Of course I'm safe," she said flippantly, though still with a bit of stumbling through her words. "What about you?" she asked hesitantly after a second.

"Yes," he exhaled, glancing about his surroundings. I wiped out on the helicopter and apparently it crashed…" he trailed off.

Her eyes widened.

"I was dead to the world somehow," he chuckled. "Thankfully Georgina was aware and came by to pick up Blair and I just before we drowned in the ocean," he sighed, and Amelia gaped for how lightly he was talking about the situation. She blinked though, shaking off her emotions. She probably deserved the ill-feeling consuming her for the lack of commitment she had given him just a few months into their relationship.

"Well, where are you now?" she asked again, now more determined than ever to get an answer out of him, though the sigh that escaped her may have proved otherwise. He had avoided it before and that set off a million warning signs in her mind. It could very well have been that he just wanted to find a roundabout way of telling her what had happened. The thought seemed unlikely.

"In Georgina's suite," he said, his voice lowering. Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you alone?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Of course," he grinned.

She visibly relaxed, avoiding the amused looks from her 'prisoners' across the room. As far as she was concerned they were nonexistent. It wasn't like she was worried that Ben might be cheating on her, though that thought did follow soon after, she was more concerned for his safety. He had just been an afterthought in her mind for so long; it felt strange to have this overwhelming _care_ for him come on so suddenly.

"What about you?" he asked, his question breaking into her thoughts. She blinked, at a loss for words on the subject. She was losing focus. "Amelia?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry," she shook it off. "I just got distracted by something," she giggled lightly. The Van der Basses looked amongst each other, finally picking up on the situation. This was the guy she was _supposed_ to be with.

"Okay…"

"Look, I've got to go," she said quickly.

"Amelia—"

She sighed, her fingers fidgeting madly and her guilt increasing by the second. "I lost track of Jr. Bass," she said quickly, her brain speeding too fast for her mouth to speak.

"What?" he asked, aghast. "What did Georgina _do_ to you?"

She shook her head, her whole heart caving in at the sound of his disappointment or anger or whatever it was. And then his concern just about broke her, his worry.

"She doesn't know," she blubbered, her head shaking faster in brief spurts. It seemed as if she was losing her mind. She was letting anyone down and the now silence on the other line was making her nervous. Her fingers curled in a fierce grip on the counter she was leaning against, and the three on the other side of the room even got anxious for what was to follow.

"Amel—"

"I've got it covered, Ben."

His lips pursed, clearly suspicious. She sighed.

"I can't tell you exactly, but…"

"So, you're not alone."

"Well, no, but…"

"Are you okay?"

"I-I have to go." She ended the call abruptly, tears springing to her eyes and her fingers clenching madly to the smooth surface. His tenderness had broken her, and she didn't even register the first ring on the hotel room phone as her cell fell from her head-to-shoulder grasp and onto the _luckily_ carpeted floor.

She picked up the room phone finally and dropped it back on its base, unhooking the cord and tucking it behind the small desk it sat on. Then she paced back and forth, unaware of anything or anyone else in the room. She dug madly about in her purse for some tissue with which she dabbed at her eyes with. She refused to let her emotions slip into existence so vividly. The genuine ones had been dormant for so long.

Five minutes later, not even, her shaky fingers had returned to a stable stance and she plugged the phone back in and called the bellhop back herself.

"Miquel?" she asked flirtatiously. She giggled excitedly into the phone, but across the room the small family knew better. Bart's steel eyes were on her turned away form. Eric shook his head at her deception, and Lily looked on in sympathy – regardless of the position the young woman held over them. She would never admit to it, but she related all too well to the young blonde's deception and inability to realize or fully accept it.

Bart blinked when he saw her sorrowful look, but she just shook it off with a simple laugh that drew Eric's questioning stare as well. She sighed and just brushed them off with an arm gesture. But she did wonder at the young woman as she spoke. _The men had been slow to catch on_, she thought. Surely they didn't grasp what she was sure only she knew, being a woman.

Every evil has its weakness.

Every demon has its heart, no matter how tattered, blackened or buried it may be.

* * *

It was pissing her off.

There they sat. Georgina and Dan sitting on a park bench not more than twenty feet away. For some reason she, _Vanessa_, had chosen to sneak over to a bush and hide just behind it instead of staying in the limo. Chuck had specifically instructed her to _stay_ in the limo – to look on at a _distance_. But she had been wary from the moment the driver stopped the vehicle, and he did nothing to stop her from climbing out of the air-conditioned, perfect-for-summer environment to go sweat and spy in a _bush_ – of all places.

Nate was the farthest thing from her mind. Maybe he should have been. Maybe the possibility of him picking up where he left off with Serena Van der Woodsen – which, from what she had heard was nothing more than a drunken hook up one night after a wedding – should have worried her. But all she had been watching for the last half an hour to an hour was _her_ best friend, _Dan Humphrey_, full out flirting with the devil incarnate – next to Chuck Bass, which she had decided to contemplate maybe actually did have a heart. Therefore Georgina took his place on the evil scale she had concocted in her head.

"Georgina, I'm really glad we got to our second date," he cracked a smile and Georgina looked on admiringly at him. It made Vanessa sick.

"Me too, Dan. I mean, I feel really bad for everything that happened between all of us, you and Serena…"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes in life, and I'm sure that was just a really big one you _never_ want to repeat." His eyes widened as he spoke. She chuckled lightly, nervously, and brought her gaze back to his.

"Definitely."

"So, your name's really not Sarah?" he asked, laughing before the words had fully left his lips. She laughed at the corny joke and Vanessa fumed.

"Nope, it's Georgina – Georgina Sparks," she said holding out her hand. He took it and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Sparks. I'm Humphrey, Dan Humphrey."

She laughed, blushing a little at the _James Bond_ reference, and it made Vanessa shake her head in fury. She didn't know what had gotten into her. It was all a fluke. Dan wanted nothing more than to be as far away from Georgina Sparks as possible. Still, it pained her to see them so close. Dan was one fantastic actor. She grumbled turning away from her crouched position towards them and leaning back against the prickly bush, grumbling further. She pulled her cell from her pocket and flipped it around in her hands, searching through the messages in hopes of a new one from Dan. He had said he would text her when some really progress had been made. Vanessa knew it would have been suspicious and _very ungentlemanly_ for him to just text her in the midst of his conversation with Georgina. Still, she was eager for the _real_ Dan to show himself to her again – no façade.

_She would completely lose it in acting school. _

_ Calm down_, she told herself. _It's not like you even like him like that. _

_ 'I don't!'_ she almost said out loud. Her eyes quickly darting about to make sure no one had seen the fierce mouthing of her quick moving mouth. No one had. She was all alone in that park, except for the presence of Dan and Georgina at the nearest park bench, and maybe some strolling old people along the outer sidewalks by the street. _Completely dangerous_, she decided.

She sighed, her hands rushing up into her hair and clenching down on her scalp in an effort to contain her surprisingly random and uncalled for emotions. Chuck had told her to stay put while he went to go get Blair. Dan would go on a date with Georgina, get her distracted, inconspicuously gather information on what else she might be up to, and then she – _Vanessa_ – would report back to Chuck as soon as Dan texted her. All she had to do was follow them from a distance and take note of anything Dan would not – gestures, hidden movements, a pause in speech. Both Dan and Vanessa had been given small ear pieces so they'd be able to listen in on their distinct conversations. The fact that Dan didn't particularly have to listen in on anything did not seem to matter to Chuck. So, the two followed orders. It was the plan, and they were in _Switzerland_. _Or Sweden_. Or overseas _somewhere_. Vanessa shook her head. She couldn't remember anymore. They weren't home, and that was all that mattered. If they didn't follow orders, there was no point in being there at all.

She turned around again, peeking at the duo from behind leafed branches. Her eyes widened at the sight of _her_ best friend leaning in to kiss _the enemy_. She stood to her feet and walked over there, pulling drastically on Georgina's arms just before her lips touched Dan's.

"What do you think you're doing, skank?!" she asked, appalled. Her eyes narrowed and she looked just about ready to kill the beast with her own teeth and nails. Georgina's head reared back.

"Vanessa, is it?" she asked, taking in her form and glancing over to Dan in order to try and form some sort of conclusion as to what was suddenly taking place. Vanessa laughed in spite.

"Yeah, it is, and last time I checked, Dan isn't your boyfriend. He's _mine_."

Dan blanched at her, somehow managing to recover by the time Georgina looked back over at him. He honestly didn't know how to react. This was _not_ according to plan. It had only ever been discussed as a last resort, and only if they had gathered an appropriate amount of information able to prove Georgina guilty and worthy of a punishable crime that would quite possibly put her in prison – a place she couldn't escape so easily.

Vanessa had ruined everything.

Dan and Georgina had been talking for over an hour. They had gotten reacquainted and things were maybe set in place for deeper things to be discussed. But the possibility of him actually being attached to who Georgina had only seen as his best friend through the last few months caught her by complete surprise. _Had she been deceived too?_

Suddenly her gaze shifted to Dan's and softened just a tad, looking guilty. He was shaking his head at her, still in shock. Chuck was going to kill her. Dan was going to kill her. And they were all going to be screwed over by Georgina Sparks. _Again_.

_Damn confusing emotions._

* * *

A/N: Ah yes, so Nate & Vanessa have more in common than we realized. (if you were confused at all by something – primarily the DVG scene – worry not! It'll be explain soon! Heh) XD Haha. Oh goodness. Well, please review. I hope you loved it! ;p


	19. All About Blair

A/N: Well, I have officially become re-inspired for writing GG fics, heheh, and this one in particular. ;p I really thought I was going to write a couple chapters today, but I got sucked into fb games and then someone finally acknowledged my tSotW fics, since she loves the book too and totally read it! *squeals* So, that kind of blocked out my inspiration for GG fics again. XD Heh. But then I saw the new GG promo for the upcoming episodes! *gasp* NS, DV, Jenny…and whoever it is she's "with", lololol, all hot and heavy. And Chuck calls his possibly alive mother a slut?!?! Intense. I hear it ends in a temporary CB break-up. *gulp* Let's hope we survive it! Haha! On with the story, please review! Lol. I shall try to have this fic finished by the end of the week or early next week. ;p

* * *

**Ch.19—All About Blair**

Georgina stalked into the hotel room in a flurry. Ben barely blinked before recognizing presence, along with the two dark-haired brunettes that were pushed in before her. He was beyond confused, especially since he had never seen the apparent _"new hostages"_ that were now in the room. He guessed the boy was the _Daniel Humphrey_ Georgina had been referring to before, with that too cheesy and "in love" look on her face.

"Vanessa," she spat, eyeing the girl down as if she were a meaningless spec of dirt she had given the privilege of being angry at. "Since when are you _Dan's_ _girlfriend_?"

The girl's eyes didn't dare budge from Georgina's fiery gaze. She figured if she did she would get them all into _more_ trouble. Georgina had clearly seen through their façade the minute Vanessa came and stalked over to them in a fury. Whatever possible "real" feelings Georgina felt for Dan evaporated in an instant. Somehow she just knew they were linked to something with Chuck and Blair. They hadn't officially been "kidnapped" on the spot, but they were definitely forced into her limo and pushed up into the hotel suite she had checked into. The fact that neither of them had bothered to even try getting away was beyond them now. They would blame it on shock later on, Dan saying he couldn't believe what Vanessa had done, and Vanessa not being able to understand it either.

She didn't know what had gotten into her. It was as if all her brain cells suddenly dissipated and all she could feel was one giant green glob of jealousy consuming her more by the second. She had adjusted to Dan's relationship with Serena, and dating Nate – for however short the time period had been – definitely helped things along. She didn't know, couldn't explain what had happened right in that small space of time during which Dan was supposed to be convincing Georgina he had feelings for her and thus discreetly uncovering any hints as to what she might be planning with Blair, and maybe even Serena. Just because Chuck would be able to rescue Blair didn't mean they were all in the clear.

"I-I, uh…" she stuttered, her eyes finally moving from Georgina's in search of some safe location in the room. Dan pursed his lips, thinking anything that would come out of them would be destructive and anything but helpful in the situation. Naturally though, with the silence consuming him in the most unsettling way, he stepped forward towards Georgina.

"Listen, Georgina—"

Her eyes flashed to his. "What, Humphrey? Are you planning to tell me your Vanessa dearest isn't your girlfriend?" she asked sweetly, clearly mocking any attempt he was planning on making. "Don't waste your breath. I know she's not. You guys look nothing like a couple," she chuckled, eyeing the two of them down. Vanessa narrowed her eyes in offense.

"I know you two are working with Chuck," Georgina said lightly, sighing carelessly as she made her away across the room to flip through some papers and turn back to face them as she leaned against the counter her brother was also planted against. She seemed to still be unaware of his existence in the room, and even in the close perimeter they were now in. "Bastard must be more remorseful than I thought," she murmured under her breath.

Dan and Vanessa were looking at her straight on when her head snapped up again. She plastered a big, wide, fake smile across her face.

"Ben," she said suddenly, not turning her head in the least to look at him. "Would you be a dear and escort Dan and Vanessa to the back room?"

He said nothing, did nothing, and the two in front of them were both confused and angry by the transactions being made. They both would curse themselves later for not trying to get out of the situation _again_. They would both find themselves to be completely moronic and absentminded for not even denying their involvement with Chuck.

"Ben!" Georgina alerted her brother to her demand for a second time, quite aware that he had blocked her demand at least half out of the comprehension portion of his brain. His eyes had drifted blankly throughout the room, not taking notice of any particular form. His eyes turned back to hers. The fiery spheres were not to be trifled with, even if he was growing tired of the whole "kidnapping" thing quicker by the second.

"Of course," he said, returning the fake smile and moving towards Dan and Vanessa, and pushing them down the hall.

Georgina smiled at her success, making a mental note to cross off any familiar faces in her mind as allies. She turned her head just then to peer into the large television and recording device attached to the center space on the right hand wall. She walked closer to it, hoping she was wrong in her assumptions. _Maybe her eyesight was failing her._

Nope.

"Ben!" she called, just barely restraining the scream that begged to burst from her testy mouth. Ben slowly walked back out, having just closed and locked the door behind Dan and Vanessa. He looked up at his sister, annoyed.

"What?" he asked, sounding as groggy as if he had just woken up from too long of a sleep.

"Where's _Blair?_" she growled angrily. Ben's eyes glanced up at the TV screen and his lips parted in understanding and dread. He looked back at Georgina. She was shaking her head at him, and finally scoffed when he said nothing.

"You know what? I don't know why I bother." She turned away from him, pacing a little. He didn't dare move, but his only desire was to get out. He would have traded places with the hostages in the back room over standing in the same room with a heated Georgina. Finally she turned back around to face him.

"I'm going to check in on her room, just to make sure you haven't completely and utterly failed me, which I'm sure you have." He looked at her in anything but shock, but his head reared back a little and something like disappointment settled on his face.

"By the way," she began again, stopping just before the door to look at him, now in a more airy, in-control way. "Amelia's cheating on you, has been since about two months after you guys got together," she shrugged.

His lips parted in shock and a badly hidden horror.

"She's also our distant cousin."

* * *

He sighed testily, annoyed at the multiple e-mail Nate had left on his phone regarding the nature of his wanting to be more involved than just a warming hand for Serena to hold. Luckily, none of them had been in the last few hours, since before Chuck had found Blair, and he hoped that meant his best friend had changed his mind and come to his senses.

Blair watched his curiously as his expressions changed and then intensified with each repetitive, whiny message. He had only been listening to them the last few minutes, but strangely she had been relieved by the interruption. His presence around her felt so awkward in the limo they had transported to almost immediately after leaving the hotel. He wasn't as okay as she had felt after they had mended their ways in the hotel room, and that made things awkward, whether he wanted them to be or not.

Chuck's eyes flicked back to hers as the final message came to a close and he shut his phone with a click. She was looking at him in earnest interest and he figured it'd be in his best interest if he just filled her in, he'd never had a problem doing it before.

"Nate," he informed her, pursing his lips. He looked away, unable to keep eye contact for long. "He didn't want to stay with Serena."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong with Serena?"

"She overdosed," he said, not thinking for a second before the words slipped out of his mouth. "Some sort of…toxic medication. I'm pretty sure Georgina's responsible."

Blair looked at him in shock, her mouth hanging open. The two of them were always blunt, but he could've delivered the matter a little more…_delicately_. When Chuck finally caught her gaze again, he regretted the way he'd gone about things instantly. He'd forgotten that Blair wasn't aware of anything but her own kidnapping. It occurred to him then if he should even tell her about his father and the rest of the Van der Basses. She was a professional schemer it was true, but she had been through enough trauma he was sure. She didn't need actual additional information to turn her world upside down further.

"A lot has happened Blair…" he said softly, sliding his hand over hers gently. She didn't recoil, but stiffened and then it felt as if her hand had gone completely numb. His eyes raked over her form as she looked away from him, his eyes, his hand, everything but the invisible bubble that now surrounded her and blocked out all sound.

"I'm just glad I got to you in time," he said, releasing her hand and turning his body straight in the seat, looking to the left out the window. Her eyes shifted back to him, trying to figure what he was thinking and just how much _else_ had happened.

"Chuck, I want you to tell me everything that's happened," she said bravely. He turned his face back towards hers.

"No," he said, leaving no room for questioning. Her eyes narrowed. _Since when could he just deny her like that? _

"Chu—"

"N—"

_**Bzz!**_

His hand moved to the vibrating cell in his pocket. Blair sighed, sinking further into the seat. She figured it was another annoying call from Nate making up some illegitimate excuse to leave Serena's side. _As far as she could tell, it looked like he had the easiest job of all, and he was trying to get out of it for more action?_ She rolled her eyes at the thought. His denial of feelings for her best friend could be the only cause, she decided. Though it wasn't exactly like he had been subtle about those before.

"Tell Nate—"

"It's Dan and Vanessa," Chuck informed her, seeming to have been completely unaware of her interruption or how upset she may have been in the midst of their last conversation. "They're at the hotel we just came from," he continued, his eyes looking up to hers for a brief moment. "We should probably go back."

She blinked, wondering what she was supposed to feel from what he said, how she was supposed to take it or even how to respond, in what manner. She figured that going back to the place she had felt most scared as of recently should strike an unmistakable and unforgettable fear in her. But it didn't. It occurred to her too that he was hiding something – no, she _knew_ he was hiding something. It seemed as though it wouldn't be easy getting it out of him either. She didn't understand any of it, how she felt and what he felt – he was completely unreadable. She didn't _know_ how he felt and it frustrated her more than anything else. She thought they were okay. She was safe, had forgiven him – though there hadn't really been much to forgive – and now they were just tying up loose ends so they could go home.

_What was she missing?_

He was distant, his face turned away. He knew he shouldn't be angry at her and should just let her in. He had been so afraid she wouldn't forgive him and then she had brushed it off as nothing. He should have been ecstatic that he'd escaped her wrath unharmed. It hadn't even been existent to begin with. On top of that though was her doubt in him not having something for Georgina to blackmail him with. Then she wanted to help him scheme, when she didn't know half the things going on. Just an hour before she had been in serious danger, whether Georgina had been planning to harm her or not, and he just couldn't let her play around with that devil in an effort to make things right. She was _safe_, and he was going to make sure she stayed that way. If he had to lie along the way with empty promises to keep her oblivious to his actual intentions…so be it.

* * *

Chuck had called the local police and informed them as to what the situation was – at least in reference to the probable "kidnapping" of Daniel Humphrey and Vanessa Abrams. The men had taken the news very seriously, especially coming from the billionaire son of one of the richest, most authoritative businessmen in the world. They told Chuck to stay behind, to find some place safe to stay until they had arrested the captor. Though his words proved otherwise, Chuck also called in to the hotel manager and security and informed them of the coming arrival. He knew telling Blair to stay in the limo would be impossible and so just stuck extra close to her, guarding her from any possible danger.

Blair found the extra closeness unusual but decided not to question it. She had no idea what was going on with them and wondered if they would have been better off just leaving her in the captivity of Georgina Sparks. Soon they were in the hall containing the three suites Georgina had checked into. Chuck pulled out his key to Blair's room and walked into the room. It was empty, just as they had left it. Hesitantly, he let Blair try one of the other keys just as he used the final key. Both rooms were deserted; one looked as if it had never been used. It was obvious to tell, however, which one Georgina (and probably Ben) had generally resided in.

Chuck's arms lie limp at his sides. His jaw dropped as his eyes scanned the empty room. Blair stood still beside him, her hand close to touching his but she resisted. The fact was that she was hardly thinking of their near perimeter. The scene shocked her as well.

Within minutes the police squad had burst into that room, and the other two, and quite frustrated had come out. The chief police stuck his raised gun back in his pocket and walked steadily towards Chuck, who had now come to attention at the direct authority in front of him.

"Son, I realize you've been a privileged youth for your entire life," he eyed him down, looking to find the easiest way to drag Chuck down. "But playing a prank on the local police squad across seas in Sweden doesn't mean it won't get back to daddy." He turned his head for the men to head back towards the elevator. Chuck hung his head in confusion and hurt, his pride deeply wounded. The lack of power he held severely frustrated him.

"I don't understand…" he said quietly, his eyes looking so lost and forlorn as he looked blankly down at the carpeted floor. Blair came up behind him and put a hand gently on his shoulder. Maybe he didn't mean to, but he subtly shook her off, unaware that she noticed and swallowed her tears at the movement.

"They told me _exactly_ where they were in that text," he said, turning to her and shoving the text in her face. She adjusted her eyes and looked at the block letters showing on his screen. "How are they not here?" he turned away frustrated, stuffing the phone back in his pocket before she could say anything. He ran a hand through his hair. She didn't know what to say, still felt so hopeless and frustrated, despising the fact that her numbness to the situation was wearing off.

Any words she might have said to him were stifled by a single gasp drawn from the sack cloth drawn over her head. She was roughly pulled away and only vaguely heard Chuck call out to her before he too was knocked out.

He didn't know how much time had passed by the time he finally woke up. But when his eyes widened he saw Georgina's bright shining face. His eyes darted quickly around the room in search of Blair, relieved when he saw her sleeping contently on a separate bed.

"Hey, sweetie," Georgina said softly, running her fingers through his hair. He tried to break free but a thick piece of cloth was drawn tightly over his mouth and his wrists and feet were tied just as tightly to the bed posts. He looked at her angrily as she continued to smile at him. Her face blurred for a moment as he looked past her to the main room – clearly they were in a back (or at least adjoining) room. His father, Lily and Eric were in that room along with a gloomy looking Dan and Vanessa. He looked back at Georgina, completely clueless as to what she really wanted with all of them. He wished right then that he had directly interacted with Georgina some weeks earlier during the scandal with Serena. Maybe then he could have seen this coming. Maybe then it wouldn't have happened at all.

"Very courageous of you to come out and rescue the Queen Bee after your infidelity," she said, pushing a drifting bang to the side of his face, away from the path of his eyes. She briefly looked over at Blair, smiled, and then looked back at him. "You must really care about her."

A muffled scoff and _"You bitch!"_ came from him as she stood to her feet and looked on at him admiringly. "You shouldn't have gotten the police involved, even if it did end in complete failure." She laughed briefly, sighing contently as she reached the doorway on her way out.

"But you did fail nonetheless," she pondered out loud, looking into some blank space near the ceiling. "And you still haven't told Blair anything else," she chuckled. "Perhaps I'll send Amelia in to reward you in a few hours," she said, finally making to turn away and head out. "Blair should be awake by then."

Chuck struggled fiercely against the ropes that tied him down. Georgina smiled wide one finally time before heading out into the main room and taunting her other hostages with the keys to leave or even a morsel of food from the mini-fridge in the kitchenette area of the room. He couldn't believe this had happened. Everything had been planned out. He had strung everything together so perfectly and he was going to put that whore into her place once and for all. Somehow though she had been one step ahead all along.

Affection for Humphrey. Nervousness over Blair having escaped. Irritation at her brother for losing track of Blair. All of it had been a façade. Nothing from her could be trusted as genuine. _Nothing except her threats. _

"Well, children, shall we play a game? Mr. Bass, you first," her eyes twinkled and the air in the large room grew thick. In the back room, Chuck swallowed hard, closing his eyes and stilling his movements on the bed, trying to erase her taunt echoing through his mind.

Her voice was fire like ice, coming from the flames of hell itself.

* * *

A/N: Well, I've finished the chapter, and with 15 minutes to spare! =D Yay! Lol. Please review! I hope I justified Vanessa's OOCness from the last chapter. ;p Sorry about that.


	20. Wake Up, Sunshine

A/N: It is probably not a good idea for me to be updating this so soon…*will probably get hardly any reviews* but perhaps you will humor me. ;p Review!

* * *

**Ch.20—Wake Up, Sunshine**

He felt silky locks brushing over his face and prayed to God that it was Blair's but new it wasn't. It didn't feel like Blair's, it didn't smell like Blair's, and the sight that greeted him when he finally opened his eyes confirmed his suspicions. Blair definitely wasn't blonde.

"Amelia—" he choked, gasping loudly as she untied the tight cloth from around his mouth. She smiled a bit, sarcasm lacing every feature, but she didn't caress his face like Georgina had, and for that he was grateful.

"Long time no see, tiger," she smirked, untying the ropes from his wrists and ankles spread across the bed. She wasn't even trying to seduce him anymore, and that fact alone confused him. She had definitely been into him before, and not that he minded, but there was a very obvious _shift_ in her demeanor.

He sat up slowly, still confused, and running a hand through his hair, trying to figure the situation out. He looked over to where Blair had been earlier and panicked when he saw she was no longer there.

"Relax," Amelia's calm voice said. His eyes turned back to hers. "Blair's in the main room. I got her right before I got you."

He scoffed, gaping. "Do you think this is _funny?_" he asked suddenly, standing to his feet. He looked hard into her eyes, trying to frighten her. She didn't seem to be affected but he saw the tint of fear in her barely visibly shaking features. "Do you think this is some sort of _game?!_" he yelled at her, his eyes widening further. He shook his head at her, scoffed again, and pushed roughly past her on his way into the main room. She followed soon after.

"Chuck, Amelia," Georgina greeted them cheerily, a smile plastered thick on her face, "Good of you to finally join us." Her eyes twinkled. Chuck scoffed, but when the two girls made no other movement, he just rolled his eyes and scanned the room for Blair. On finding her, he went to her side and her hand instantly went to his, intertwining and gripping tightly to his fingers.

"We were playing a game before…" Georgina said lightly, and for the first time Chuck noticed the shattered wine bottle in the middle of the floor. "Apparently Mr. Bass isn't a fan of Spin the Bottle," she smirked, walking towards the giant window and admiring its view.

Bart seemed to take in his son when he walked into the room, relief flooding through him. But in a moment it was gone. The only one who had caught it was Lily, who had been eyeing him the whole time, hoping he would finally give his son the benefit of the doubt. He said nothing, but she held his hand tighter and he reciprocated. Eric was also relieved and it could be easily seen in his features. His gaze slammed into Chuck's for a moment and the quiet understanding was made. Chuck's eyes turned angry the instant he spotted Dan and Vanessa's guilty features. Vanessa looked particularly guilty, and he made a mental note to himself to never trust her – especially in regards to Blair – again. He should have known she wasn't aware of her _still_ feelings with Dan. Feelings like that ruined _everything_. He knew from experience.

"Nate and Serena…" Georgina began again, "are the only ones who aren't here," she said slyly. "I have to say, Chuck," her eyes darted to him, "it was awfully smart of you to make Nate stay with her." She winked and he was incredibly furious. He hated that she knew everything, and he didn't have the slightest idea how she knew it. Blair felt the tension suddenly taking over him and placed her other hand on his arm to still him, should he try to escape.

"I did make Serena overdose." She smiled wickedly. "How I did it is up to you to decide," she shrugged, "I won't give away _all_ my secrets so easily. She should be back to normal in about forty-eight hours though, so I wouldn't worry about it." She pursed her lips. A mix of emotions spread across all of their faces and it pleased her to see it.

"What benefit is there in you keeping us all captive?" Mr. Bass ground out. For the first time Chuck looked over at his father and briefly at Lily. There was so much he wanted to tell him – how he had been right, that he should have listened to him. He wondered if the man would have even stayed with him if he'd known. He knew he certainly wouldn't have given him credit. He would blame him for getting into the mess all together.

"Questions, questions…first of all, Mr. Bass, I'm not keeping you captive. None of you would ever be able to prove it. I have no loaded weapons on me here, neither do Ben and Amelia," she gestured to the two partners in crime she exhibited on the far side of the room. "You can get up and leave now if you wish."

He scoffed. "There must be something you want," he insisted.

She stepped towards him, smirking, "Are you _scared_, Mr. Bass, that you won't be able to open the door?" she asked tauntingly. His eyes narrowed.

"You _know_ I can't."

She sighed lightly. "It's true, you can't. I've got so many different locks on there, and their combinations are so complicated you wouldn't be able to open a single one." She smiled. He was silent and she continued to walk through the room.

"Before I retire to something more amusing in one of the adjoining rooms though, I thought I'd give all of you some food for thought, some facts you may not have been aware of."

Confusion swept over their faces and their eyebrows narrowed. Chuck's hands grew sweaty, knowing this could be anything but good. Georgina first directed her gaze to Dan and Vanessa.

"My fake friends," she smiled cheekily at them. "You're both in love with each other but unwilling to admit it, because Dan's still in love with Serena, and Vanessa's interested in Nate." She sighed, mocking sadness. "Plus, neither of you want to get hurt again. And let's face it, that's how you got into this mess to begin with. Vanessa pulled the plug on our _fake _datebecause she was jealous."

Vanessa's eyes looked down to her hands fiddling with each other. Dan turned his head to look at her angrily. Georgina moved on.

"Blair," she said, watching with pleasure as the brunette's head lifted. "You've probably made up with Chuck, as the positioning of your hands suggests. Whether you choose to believe it or not, Chuck _did_ cheat on you, in a manner of speaking." She pulled out a tape from the deep recesses of the purse she had slung over her shoulder. "He had to do _something_ to get rid of Amelia, so he could "save" you." She smirked. "That's all the proof you need."

Blair looked at the tape Georgina extended to her and desperately just wanted to snatch it and throw it in her face, tell her whatever she knew or had made up to deceive her wasn't going to scare her, even if she was scared half out of her wits.

"Chuck," her gaze shifted, eyes still twinkling. "Your father could care less about you. In fact he thinks all of this is your fault, when in fact you were the one trying to stop all of it. He'll just never believe you, even if you are telling the truth. Though that possibility is pretty unlikely too." She laughed. "I have to admit your best lie was telling Blair you loved her – oh wait, you told Nate you loved her. Putting all your relationships on the line now, aren't we?" she winked at him. He was struggling to sit still, his anger burning in through his eyes. Blair's hand had dropped from his arm, her other hand out of his clutches as well. She had taken the tape.

"Oh, and my favorites," Georgina beamed, turning to Bart and Lily. She turned briefly towards Eric. "I already announced to your family that you came out of the closet, since you obviously were too shamed to," she shook her head at him. "I think you've had enough fun for now." He gaped, shaking his head at her.

"Bart." His head snapped up to hers, not saying a word. "Lily had a one-night stand with Rufus the day before your wedding," she said coyly. "Chances are she will again, if you don't die first that is." She sighed contently moving towards where Ben and Amelia stood on the opposite end of the room.

"The two of you make horrible accomplices. Remind me to never use you again," she sighed, sounding aggravated. "Nonetheless, you do deserve your set of information on each other." The two looked up at her warily. "Unfortunately, I've already informed Ben just how _close_ you two are, Amelia," she said sweetly, brushing the blonde's lingering locks away from her face. Her eyes widened in terror and Georgina continued to smile. "Oh, and that you've been cheating on him practically from day one."

Her eyes shifted to Ben. "Unfortunately for you Ben, the only excitement you have in your life is being related to me. Though I'm sure that will cause you to get in trouble soon enough." She winked at him and moved back through the room, eyeing all of them once more and smiling just before she turned to walk down the hall into the distant adjoining room.

"Now, if you'll excuse me lovelies, since I've given you plenty to amuse yourselves with, I'm sure, I'm going to get some reading done out of my favorite book…the _Bible_."

* * *

"Sir?" the soft voice of the shy nurse drew him out of his trance with Serena's eyes. It was only by the movement from her own eyes that his even shifted to the door where the petite brunette stood.

"Yes?" he asked, straightening up in his seat.

"Well, I have some good news for you," she offered up a small smile and the two of them blinked, curiosity flooding across their faces. "Miss Van der Woodsen can be dismissed sometime in the next couple hours. The doctors have run through all the statistics for her vitals…and some other small medical things and have found nothing wrong with her. Luckily, the drugs have flushed through her system and as long as she's careful," the nurse darted a warning glance towards Serena, who ducked her head dutifully in a shame she could not entirely remember, "everything should be back to normal."

"T-Thank-you," Nate stuttered, seeming to be overwhelmed by the information. It felt like they had been in that hospital room for much longer than they had been, weeks almost, and now they were finally going to be let out.

The nurse nodded politely and headed out the door. He watched after her in awe, and then turned his head back to Serena's face with the small tug she gave on his hand. She was smiling brightly at him, and it made him smile in return, though he was still gaping.

"We get to _leave_," he said excitedly, almost like a little boy who had just been given permission to eat a chocolate chip cookie before supper. Serena giggled.

"I think you're more excited than I am," she joked. He continued smiling when suddenly his face fell and he reached for the phone in his pocket. "What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"Chuck," he said instinctively, not even pausing to make eye contact. "I haven't heard from him in hours and he was planning on making the trip back over before the day was out." He searched feverishly through the messages and missed calls on his phone, frustrated when he came up empty-handed. Serena watched him cautiously.

"Do you think something's happened? Something _worse_?" her concerned eyes penetrated his and he was glad for the sake of his confession that he could not find the fear in them. He decided to ignore the fact that maybe he just didn't want to.

"It doesn't seem like Georgina is doing this to hurt anybody," he began, getting straight to the point. After a beat Serena glanced around at the wires still strewn across her body. He sighed.

"Except you." She nodded knowingly and he sighed back in his chair, placing a hand over his eyes. "It doesn't make sense," he said. "She hasn't called in for a ransom or anything."

"Probably because anyone she'd request a ransom from is already in her possession," she muttered. She was as confused over the whole ordeal as Nate was, though no doubt he was a little more troubled than she was, getting firsthand accounts from Chuck himself on what was going on.

"Why wouldn't she call the police?" his eyes flicked back to hers and they met. It was clear she didn't know the answer and that fact frustrated him as well. He just wanted someone to tell him everything he needed to know. Serena bit her lip softly, saddened by his confused, helpless expression. She didn't dare move to comfort him. She was afraid he'd snap in an instant, and it wouldn't help anything if they were tense with each other.

Nate had looked away by now, as if the answers to all his problems were hidden in the hospital room, waiting to be found and used for the benefit of the greater good. He was just about to give up, when his eyes flicked back to Serena's again. A new determination shown in them. Serena was confused and almost frightened by the sight of it.

"What?" she asked, unable to take the silence any longer.

"Do you still have Georgina's number?"

"Uh…I—I think so," she said, lost at his meaning. "Why?" she questioned, analyzing his face, trying to see how the wheels were turning in his head and in what way she could interpret it, if she could interpret it at all.

His eyes flashed to her purse across the room and immediately he began digging in it.

"Nate," she called out to him, almost humored by his dramatic actions. "Nate," she said, more defiant this time. He sighed and turned to her, phone in hand.

"Dan, Vanessa, Bart, Lily, Chuck, Blair – all of them, are quite possibly with Georgina right now."

Serena's lips parted.

"I'm pretty sure they all have a GPS tracker on their phones. I know Chuck and Blair do. The four of us got one when we were thirteen, so we'd always be able to find each other if we needed to."

She watched him cautiously.

"Through your phone, and probably on mine too, we can figure out where they all are, and we can threaten Georgina."

Serena's eyes widened at the suggestion. The last thing she wanted to do was get involved with Georgina, let alone talk to her. She was petrified at the idea, and Nate could see it on her face as she shook her head. He went to her and kneeled beside her bed, clutching her hands in his own.

"I know this is scary for you, Serena. I wouldn't ask it if it weren't absolutely necessary. Georgina's good at manipulations and frighteningly realistic sounding threats. But I think this might be our chance to be just one step ahead."

She swallowed hard.

"Will you try to be brave? For Blair?" he asked. Her eyes darted to his. She was worried sick over her best friend, scared to death of what might be happening to her. The group kidnapping blew her mind and she couldn't comprehend what it all meant.

"I don't think this whole kidnapping has to do with Blair ruining her in your name."

She didn't look away – _couldn't_ look away, and that scared her. Everything he was _saying_ scared her. She begged him with her eyes to stop talking in words she didn't want to hear, to erase everything that was happening and just tell her it was a bad dream. But she knew he couldn't, and so she waited, knowing it would come, for the final line in his plea.

"I think it has to do with you."

Her eyes flicked away, zooming in one his hand when he brought her phone around and offered it up to her trembling fingertips.

"Please, Serena. Call."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so, not a cliffhanger, and not even 3 scenes and I apologize for that. But more wonderful upgrades(? XD) have happened in the tSotW sector of my life and I can just NOT focus on GG at the moment. Lol. But I got through the second scene and you should definitely review. Lol. I shall try to update soon!


	21. Burning Rescue

A/N: Another update. I must apologize. It has come to my attention that several things in the last few chapters have been completely unrealistic and just don't make sense. This whole story started out badly and now that I've become so obsessed with tSotW and am just more inspired to write for that, this fic has suffered. But I cannot blame it on that. There are only a few chapters left in this fic, and in those few chapters I shall try to justify and make right my mistakes. Please message me or comment in your review is something is off kilter. Thanks again. You've been great. =)

* * *

**Ch.21—Burning Rescue**

"Chuck."

He turned his face to her, zeroed in on the tape that she held in her hands. His eyes looked up to hers slowly. He saw fear written all over his face and wanted to wipe it all away, to tell her nothing had happened, but in reality something had happened, whether he had enjoyed it or had an ulterior motive…or not.

"Please tell me this is _not_ what I think it is."

"What do you _think_ it is?" he scoffed, trying to ignore the increased pain that shown on her face. Her eyebrows narrowed and he couldn't tell if she was more sad or angry.

"Why don't you _tell_ me?" she countered, grinding her teeth. "Are you cheating on me with that bitch on here, or not?" He shook his head as if her words were ridiculous, but he knew she didn't take his gesture as anything more than his frustration.

"Of course you would think the worst of me. You always have."

Now she was mad, he knew. They were falling into Georgina's trap of getting mad at each other, of not working things out and letting all the anxious topics she had thrown in their faces get to them. Somehow he couldn't help but provoke the flurry of feelings inside of him. He had been scared and worried and just about to give up so much since the exact moment he had finally found Blair, as carried away in their bliss as they had been.

"Chuck," she sighed. "Just tell me."

He remained frozen, hated the way her voice softened as if she pitied him. Somewhere in him he sensed that she was just as agitated as he and everyone else in the situation but it was as if a clouded mist had come over his senses and everything dissolved into anger. It only increased when she laid her hand on his arm, squeezing it gently so as to encourage him. He snapped away.

"Talk to me," she pleaded. When he still said nothing, she folded her hands across her chest. "Fine, don't tell me what's on this tape. Just let me assume the worst. That'll make everything all better," she spat. He turned to look at her, his eyes like fire. His heart sank at her words but his face was hard as iron and he could not make himself go soft and become human for her.

He turned away again and she rolled her eyes, scoffing. "You're never going to tell me anything, are you? You'll never confide in me about _anything_."

His eyes drifted to the floor but he didn't dare look at her.

"You know, when everyone thought the worst of you, I always defended your stubborn, ignorant ass," she sneered. "Now I know it was a mistake to begin with." She got up in a huff and crossed the room. He wanted to go after her so badly, tell her off he had felt ever since they'd reunited and how miserable he was now that everything was going wrong and he was now reaffirmed with his father's doubt in his abilities. There was no respect. Everything was breaking all around him, and he would not be a lazy ass wimp who succumbed to confiding in people, even those he loved. Not that he would ever tell her now.

His hatred for Georgina gnawed at him like an angry wolf and he became irritatingly restless, but he did not move from his spot on the couch, far away from Blair's distant form by the door. Her arms were across her chest still and she was shaking her head, angry at their transaction. He couldn't blame her, but his mind and his soul wouldn't let him make her his highest priority. He did not have the strength.

About half way across the room sat Dan and Vanessa avoiding each other's gaze. Every once in awhile Dan would look up and glare at Vanessa, shaking his head. She would gape and then narrow her eyes. But neither would speak and then their fingers would just pinch into the skin of their shirts as they focused their attention intently on the carpeted floor beneath which they sat.

"You were _way_ out of line, Vanessa," he ground out finally. "Everything would've been _fine_ if we had just _stuck_ to Chuck's plan."

"I _said_ I was _sorry_," she ground out, though with more fervor. "And besides, everything would not have been fine. Clearly she was aware of the plan all along and just played along to get at us!"

Dan scoffed. "That woman will say _anything_ to scare us into believing she has all the power. She's _evil_."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Obviously," she muttered.

"This is _ridiculous!_" Eric suddenly said, marching over to the front door into the suite. "We're being held captive because the _door_ is _locked?!_" he shrieked. Everyone's eyes widened as they walked him stalk across the room.

"Now, now, honey," Lily tried to soothe him, reaching out her hands as though to calm him. His eyes flashed to hers though, full of fury and she pulled back her hands instantly. Never before had she seen her son looking so angry.

"No, mom," he scoffed. "We've been in here for at least three days and not even attempted to get out? All Amelia did was taunt us!"

Lily sighed, shaking her head and pressing her forefinger and thumb to the creases on her forehead. "We're locked in dear."

"But we've never even tried to get out!" he nearly shouted, gaping. Chuck sighed, leaning back into the couch as if the young boy was suddenly making sense.

"What do you suggest we do?" he eyed him skeptically.

"I suggest," he spat, "that we try and open the door." His eyes narrowed. Chuck's eyes were peering into his intensely but that didn't stop the boy from turning away from all their scared, questioning eyes and moving towards the door. Blair, who was practically next to the front door made to reach out her hands and stop the younger Van der Woodsen that was so very determined to get them all out of there and that they had all clearly just been brainwashed in thinking there was no way out.

Just as he marched over to the door though, he passed the counter on which Georgina's purse sat. In all his fury, he accidentally knocked it onto the floor and though he was hardly altered by the new occurrence, Blair's scared voice calling out for him to stop made him halt. He turned around slowly, suddenly feeling a very eerie atmosphere settling in, almost like a fog that had snuck up during the night. He couldn't hear a single other person breathing, except for Blair whose breaths seemed to have gotten heavier and faster.

Amongst many other things that had tumbled out of Georgina's purse was a loaded gun and three more bullets that lie around it. Everyone sat paralyzed by the sight. They had felt incredibly stupid and yet so in shock as to not even move when Eric had proposed they at least _try_ the lock on the front door. No weapons had been visible before, and even Georgina had stated that she held no weapons over them so the police would not have evidence to charge her for kidnapping should any of them escape.

Bart blinked, and then shook his head in an anxious fervor. "Eric, pick it up!" he demanded. He would have gone over and picked the gun up himself but Eric was closest, and they would need the weapon as soon as possible. They could most definitely use it against Georgina as a threat to let them all go. Of course, if the door wasn't actually locked, it would make things even easier.

Eric was almost to the gun when clanking heels were heard in the small hallway and Georgina Sparks emerged from the shadows. "Well, well, little Van der Woodsen, quite a find you have there," she said, her eyes sparkling, as she snatched the gun out of his trembling hands before he could get a good hold on it. "Sorry," she said, turning around to all of them. "I guess I lied," she chuckled, moving towards the door.

Blair's eyes narrowed at her but she took no need. "It's all about you, isn't it Blair?" she asked, her voice lowering a tad in annoyance. Blair blinked, unsure of her meaning and how the question had suddenly popped up when nothing of the sort had been directed towards her. Georgina turned away and reached just above the door to a black box that quite surprisingly none of them had noticed before, probably had dismissed it as a security camera of some sort. Though now they all felt quite stupid for not taking more notice of the details in the room.

"All I wanted was to be Serena's best friend again," her pristine smile shown across her face as she looked at Blair eyeing the big red numbers counting backwards from fifty-nine minutes. "I wanted Party Serena back, because only _she's_ the fun one."

Blair's eyes lowered back to Georgina's. She gulped, though a controlled anger was now boiling in her at the words against Serena pouring out of her kidnapper's mouth.

"Now you'll all have to pay with your lives," she said simply. She leaned in towards Blair who surprisingly didn't rear her head back at the sudden movement. "I believe I'm the bitch here, Blair. And after you're all gone," she shrugged, moving away again, "It won't matter what pathetic little reign you've held in Manhattan." She sighed contently and turned back for the hall. She stopped once and looked back at Eric.

"Oh, and Eric?"

He turned and looked at her hesitantly.

"You can go ahead and try unlocking the door if you wish, but one incorrect move and this whole suite will blow up in your faces, leaving you as ash." She smiled. He swallowed hard, wondering if she were even human.

"What about you?" he asked. "Won't you die too?"

She continued to smile. "Well, where there's a will, there's a way. Nobody destroys Georgina Sparks." He was speechless as she walked down the short hall again and retreated into the bedroom. He, along with everyone else, was aghast and the recent events. What confused them all enough was the fact that Georgina was implying she had a way out should the bomb go off, which granting the count down on the small box, gave them less than an hour. That could only mean there was some other way out of the suite.

The only problem was trying to find it.

* * *

A loud noise sounded off from just outside the hotel room and everyone's eyes flashed to the door. They all feared for the worst – that the bomb was about to go off early. It was only by some miracle that they had managed to rip it off of the wall. Chuck, Dan and Bart had spent the entire time trying to figure out how to turn it off with no luck. The girls searched the suite, careful to avoid Georgina's room, for some sort of way out. Though the thought that the exit out was through Georgina's room remained an ever constant dread in their minds, and one that was plowing through at a furious rate, hardly letting them think of anything else. Ben and Amelia remained at their place on the far side of the room. No one had paid them any attention and their own situation with each other was enough to prevent them from thinking outside of their heads, even at a time as critical as this. Now that the bomb was off the wall, Eric was studying every aspect of the five supposed locks crossing over the suite door. His hope was that they were no longer connected in any way to the bomb now being analyzed on the counter from which Georgina's purse had spilled over from.

"Police!"

Eric backed away from the door, all of them did, though Ben and Amelia finally came to their senses and made to go down to a hall into Georgina's or the other room in which to hide themselves.

"There's a bomb!" Eric yelled to the men outside the door before, he hoped, they would bust through. "And there are…locks," he finished lamely, cursing himself for not realizing sooner that locks would not matter when the life-saving men broke through the door.

"We know!" they called back. "Get as far away from the door as you can! We're coming in!"

Dread filled all of them, but they did as they were told. A bomb is a bomb, and they knew it would spread father than half the room's space. Still they said nothing and moved to the opposite wall, stumbling over things in their path.

A loud noise was heard and the door was thrust open. It was a lucky none of them were hit by it and made unconscious. After at least ten policemen came Nate and Serena, rushing to Blair's side. Serena was nearly crying over her best friend and what could have happened. Nate went over to Chuck, hugging him like they had gone through the experience more times to count. Chuck didn't push him away and made a subtle attempt to smile afterwards.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Chuck nodded, feeling time would come later to talk about the details, though making a mental note to maybe have it forgotten and left undealt with.

"All right! Everybody out!" one of the policeman shouted. They all rushed out. Some had done so already and were escorted to the elevator by the hotel manager who was just about losing his hair over what was happening. He apologized profusely to everyone coming out of the room, but they didn't seem to notice his existence. Only Lily, even in her fury, turned towards him and told him that he was not to blame.

"What about the bomb?!" Blair called suddenly. Chuck turned her around and guided her into the elevator though, suddenly very aware that they were out of harm's way.

"The policemen disposed of it," he said quietly. She blinked.

"What?" she asked in disbelief. "How is that even possible. None of _you_ could figure it out."

He sighed impatiently. "I think they've had a little more experience than the three of us, Blair…" he muttered. For the moment she gave up and settled into the elevator, her eyes closing as she leaned her head back on the wall, grateful that she had survived what very well could have been her second death in less than five days.

Overhead Georgina's scream was heard, along with the sound of a single bullet firing off.

……………………

Twenty-four hours later, the Bass limos had successfully dropped off everyone at their prospective homes and suggested a little rest and relaxation for all of them. Lily, Eric and Serena had been dropped off first, Dan and Nate followed soon after. Hardly a glimpse of any of them was seen moments after they had even exited the vehicle. Now the only individuals that remained in the solitary Bass limo, besides the limo driver, was Bart Bass, his son, Chuck, and Blair Waldorf.

None of them said a word to each other, especially Chuck and Blair. Chuck hadn't even tried to speak to her once since his successful convincing of getting her into the elevator the day before. All of them were so very worn out over all that had happened, but the silence was unusual. The first time he'd delivered her from harm's way they couldn't keep their hands off each other, and now they were as silent as mimes. It was a miracle that they even glanced at each other from time to time.

He knew it was over between them, but he had hoped some sort of civil closure could be gathered. It never came though, and he decided it was his lot in life for things to fail him and that he would end up so terribly alone, without even a successful business to be proud of and known for as his father had.

Blair Waldorf left the limo wordlessly, without even a thank-you except to the driver. He had not been the one to save her from near death in the clutches of Georgina Sparks, Chuck thought, but the anger flitted away almost instantly. She had thanked him in so many ways throughout the last few days. Now that such awkwardness had sunken down on them, he could not expect her to put herself out there again.

"Son," Bart's voice came out from the shadows. Chuck's eyes flicked to his. "I apologize for my behavior earlier. It was uncalled for."

Chuck's lips parted.

"You are not to blame for any of this. I want you to know that. You did the honorable thing. You tried to save us all, and though you were only partially successful, you still succeeded in showing the qualities of the man I am sure you are bound to become." His lips slid into a thin line with a tiny quirk up at the corners. It was the closest to a smile Chuck knew he would ever get from him. Suddenly the sunken feeling he had in regards to Blair vanished, and he felt a great lightness fill him at the approval of his father.

"T-Thank-you, Father," he stuttered, blinking away his clumsiness. What came next surprised him even more. Bart slid over, and pulled his son to him, gripping his arms around Chuck's back tightly.

"I love you, Charles." He pulled back for an instant. "I just want what's best for you."

Chuck was gaping, but he nodded, everything going numb. Perhaps the most awful of situations can bring a certain beautiful reward to them in the end. This was all he could have ever hoped for. He had been struggling for his father's affection and love his entire life. Even if things outwardly changed from this moment on, he would know that it was not in vain that this happened. There was a purpose to it all. He would have to suffer through losing Blair as anything, and also the post-trauma he'd have to endure from the whole experience, but he'd gained such great knowledge and admiration from his father, who was _proud of him_.

He had never known a greater joy.

* * *

A/N: So, crappy length again, I know. XD But hopefully things are more realistic and understandable now. Please tell me if it's not. I'll do my best to fix it in these final chapters. We'll figure out more about how the police came around and the bomb was stopped and what all happened with Georgina, Ben and Amelia soon. Worry not. Oh, and this is definitely not the end of CB. I'm insane about them, so I wouldn't let it all end. ;p Please review! =D


	22. Sweet End

A/N: Okay, so I kind of…lied? XD lol. This is actually the last chapter. Though, there will be an epilogue soon, like within the next couple days. Heh. If I keep to my normal scene lengths, which if I don't get distracted too much should probably be happen, then this will be a pretty long chapter! Yay! =D Otherwise it might be a little shorter. *shakes head* lol. I apologize ahead of time for whatever happens. Please review. =)

* * *

**Ch.22—Sweet End**

"Hey," she said, shifting awkwardly just outside his doorway.

"Hey," he said, just as awkwardly, stepping aside after a moment to let her come in.

"Where's Vanessa?" she asked, as if that was the sole reason she had come.

"Oh," he ran a hand through his hair, "she's back at his sister's." He pursed his lips. "We're not really…talking."

"Well, you should talk to her," she said almost instantly, as if she had planned out the topics at which she would approach. He guessed if she had actually done so, she wouldn't be talking so fast. Maybe she was nervous. He definitely was. "You guys would be great together," she said, avoiding his gaze.

"Serena," he said, interrupting her before she said more things he knew both of them would regret. He crossed the small space between them and clasped his hands over hers. "I never should have broken up with you."

She released a breath, her eyes searching his and looking as if she'd been waiting to hear those words all her life. Then she turned away and walked to the couch, sitting down on it with one leg curled under her. Dan went to follow her and sat beside her.

"I love you," he said. Her eyes flicked up to his.

"I know," she said, "I love you too."

"Then what?" he asked. She looked away from him, untangling her hands away from his eager fingertips of which he had grasped hers. "I realized my mistake. We all make mistakes and after everything that's happened…" he sighed. She turned back to look at him.

"A lot has changed since the wedding, Dan."

He looked up at her, searching her pretty eyes for the words to the thoughts he had sought out and ignored a hundred times in the last day and a half, in the last few days if he was being honest. He wanted to tell her it wasn't true, and for her to tell him it was all a bunch of lies that the drama from the kidnapping had created. But they both knew it wasn't true.

"When I first met Vanessa—"

"No," he shook his head, grabbing her hand again. She stole her hand away again though and covered his hands so he could not overpower her in any way.

"Dan," she silenced him, looking intently into his eyes. "When I first met Vanessa, I was heartbroken that you had lied to me and jealous that you loved her before you loved me."

"No," his lips pressed together, angry that he couldn't express himself properly. "That's not how it was, Serena. I didn't _love_ Vanessa." She watched as his gaze shifted when he said it. "It—It was _puppy_ love. That's it. I was sixteen! Nobody can really know love at sixteen."

"Chuck did."

"You're comparing me to Chuck now? Seriously?" he asked, laughing a little to lighten the mood. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not," she laughed in response. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at his progress. "Things have changed though, Dan." He stilled again, finding it the hardest thing in the world to look at her. "I was jealous when I first met Vanessa," she sighed, "and not that I'm not a little now," she chuckled, "but…"

Finally he raised his gaze to her. "Serena, I love you, only you." She looked at him, smiling softly. It was the same thing he had said to her the night of the Masquerade Ball.

"No, you don't," she said. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Serena—"

"Dan," she choked a couple tears, begging him to stop. She swallowed hard. "It wasn't just a big mistake sleeping with Nate before I left for boarding school," she cried out in the midst of tears. "The reason I haven't been with him is because I didn't want to risk hurting Blair, hurting my friendship with Blair. I fell in love with you along the way but that doesn't mean the feelings went away, and ever since you broke up with me, I can't stop thinking about it."

He nodded, suddenly feeling very bitter. "So, that's just it. You're in love with Nate and you're justifying it by insisting I'm in love with Vanessa?!" he nearly shouted, standing to his feet.

"Dan," she pleaded, holding her hand fiercely to his and thanking the Heavens when he didn't rip away from her and storm out of the loft. He was never the type to do something so outrageous but after such a proposal she would not curse him for it. He sighed harshly and waited for her words. "I'm not in love with Nate," she said. His eyes flicked to hers. "But there are…feelings there, and I know you have feelings for Vanessa too."

He sighed, not denying the statement. She stood to her feet and looked him in the eyes, peering into his soul. He could never stand on his own two feet when she looked at him like that. He would always crumble and give her exactly what she wanted, because she was the girl of his dreams and he was in love with her and had made a stupid mistake by letting her go.

"Don't you?" she prodded. He made no movement, couldn't even comprehend the idea of loving someone else when his whole year had revolved around Serena Van der Woodsen. The next few moments passed and she knew he wasn't going to admit to it. She leaned in to kiss him and he knew it was a kiss of good-bye but that didn't stop him from getting swept up in her, his fingers weaving through her beautiful blonde locks for what he feared would be the last time.

"You're giving up," he said, leaning his forehead against hers when they parted.

"No," she shook her head as her body conformed to his. He waited for what she would say next, ready to deny any and all of it. Any excuse regarding their social status, their almost feelings towards each other, the need to let each other go…he had a planned way out of it all. He was breaking so badly at his words. After all the rejection they'd gotten from everybody, they'd become accepted and destined, and now it was just…_over?_

She bit her lip softly, pulling away. He looked desperately into her blue depths, searching for a solution to the problem she would not give. He knew then that what she felt for Nate Archibald was something she'd never feel for him. There had been more between them long and he'd ignored the hints after she was finally his. He could see how it killed her when he broke up with her at the wedding. He could see all the love in her eyes and had been afraid to look because the expression would kill him as well. He could take any of the excuses that had been presented to them throughout the year as the reason to why they officially broke up, but he wouldn't believe a single one.

He knew she was right. But that didn't mean he wasn't torn up when her form had completely left his and was nearly at the door.

"I love you, Dan Humphrey," she smiled softly. He stared on at her beauty and knew he'd never felt more broken and more in love with her than at that very moment. She was being so very brave for all the complications that surrounded them and their counterparts.

"I love you too," he said, his eyes staring empty space long after she'd gone.

* * *

The line was unnaturally quiet for the longest time and Serena wondered if her best friend was still on the opposite line or if an operator was about to come on.

"Blair?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah! I'm here, S," she said, sounding for the third time if she'd just come out of a dream world. Serena pursed her lips, telling herself she should just ignore it as she had before, but not allowing herself to go through that course of action _again_.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing, S," she sighed, clearly aggravated, and Serena knew for a matter of fact that it was not entirely directed at her. "I'm listening, I swear. You just officially justified breaking up with Dan because you have feelings for Nate. See?"

Her eyebrows fused. "This doesn't bother you at all? You just broke up with Nate."

Blair's lips thinned in a plastic smile. "It thrills me that you're no longer involved with Humphrey." Serena rolled her eyes at her best friend's cynicism.

"Blair—"

"And as far as Nate goes," she sighed loudly, "He is no longer my concern." She twisted her hair idly around her finger. Serena's lips pursed, still trying to find the heart of the matter when it clicked with her instantly.

"Have you talked to Chuck?" she asked. The line became incredibly silent again and she closed her eyes in frustration, almost grinding her teeth when she said, "Blair?"

"No!" the brunette said quickly, surprising her friend with the intensity of it. "I haven't spoken with him for the last two days," she said, her voice lower than before. Now Serena was quiet, but she wouldn't torture Blair in the way she had been tortured by keeping silent.

"You think I should," Blair stated before Serena's uncertain advice could be spoken.

"A lot has happened. I think you two need to talk about it."

Blair scoffed. "What's there to talk about? He basically cheated on me, and even if he didn't, he refuses to _confide in me!_ What kind of relationship is based off of _secrets?!_"

Serena took a deep breath, scolding herself for not having thought that Blair would burst if she pushed her. "Blair…"

The brunette sighed, clearly giving up earlier than usual. "What?"

"Just talk to him."

The line was silent for a long time before Blair countered her weighted suggestion. "Are you going to talk to Nate?" Serena didn't respond and Blair grinned victoriously. "Well, if you're not going to talk to Nate, then I'm not going to—"

"Yes," she said suddenly. Blair paused, ignoring what her best friend was referring to.

"Yes what, Serena?" she asked flippantly, though with a bit of spit to the tail end of her words.

"I'm going to talk to Nate…about everything that's happened," she concluded. Blair's lips parted. "Tomorrow," she said. Blair's eyebrows narrowed.

"What are you saying? That's my due date too?" she scoffed. Serena shrugged.

"Whatever you want Blair," she sighed, already exhausted by the conversation. "Just try and to look past the small issues…"

"Sm—?!"

"He saved your life," she said tiredly.

Blair's mouth snapped shut. "I have to go," she said a few minutes later when the silence had consumed them again. Serena nodded, sighing an additional time.

"Okay," she said, not even bothering to feel offended when Blair hung up on her without a single note of talking later or a good-bye. The woman was dramatics at its best. At this level, she was not going to question it.

* * *

When it was nearly dark out, Blair went to the New York City jail and had a chat with the policeman covering the Bass case. Many people had been included in the kidnapping Georgina Sparks was head over, but with the Bass name being such an end-all to the world, it dominated the whole of the case file.

"What's the verdict?" Blair asked, leaning on the counter towards the aged cop. He smiled at her, probably glad to see a friendly, youthful face after a full day of fighting crime.

"Guilty, Miss Waldorf."

She smirked, though bursting for joy inside for the affirmative answer.

"All of them?" she asked inquisitively.

"Mmhmm," he nodded. "We'll have to wait and see what exactly the sentencing will be in court, but there is plenty of proof that she, and the other two are guilty. That, and the fact of so much drug use." Blair nodded along.

"Ah yes, with Serena…" she remembered, a little chilled at the memory that would no doubt stick in her brain for awhile more. "Chuck only had sleeping pills so that probably doesn't count, huh?" she grinned a little at the almost nonexistent joke involved in such a serious matter.

"No, of course sleeping pills don't really matter, though they might be used against her in some ways, I suppose…" he trailed off, "but I was referring mostly, besides with Miss Van der Woodsen, the incident that happened with your friends, Mr. Humphrey and Miss Abrams." Blair's eyebrows furrowed.

"What about Dan and Vanessa?" she asked, confused. The policeman's eyes widened a little along with the dropping of his jaw. Clearly she was not aware.

"Well, there was a time in between them willingly visiting with Miss Sparks and actually being kidnapped by not only her but also her accomplices, some of which we have yet to find," he frowned at the thought. Blair listened intently to his words, feeling uneasy that there was a detail she had missed, and though she just might never admit it, she worried for the Dan and Vanessa in the past tense.

"She injected a sort of…numbing, almost amnesia-like drug into their systems. So, either they had struggled and not been aware of it afterwards, or they just allowed themselves be pushed around by her, simply by the fact that they were numb," he said, shrugging a shoulder. Blair was still confused.

"But…wouldn't that make them…" she gestured by dropping her hand from its position a few inches in the air to demonstrate what she seemed unable to say. "For lack of a better term…fall?"

"No," he chuckled, shaking his head, "though I can see where you might come to that conclusion. It was more a numbing of the mind than of the muscles in the limbs."

"Ah," she nodded, though still not fully understanding. "Well, that makes sense," she said, deciding to drop the matter completely. "But they're all right?" she asked, suddenly so very worried for them and confused at that fact. She decided to also dismiss that notion.

"Oh yes," he said, affirming what the hope in her voice desired. "The drug wears off in a matter of hours. Plus, it's been a few days since the incident. The drug should be completely flushed out of their system." Blair thinned her lips in a tight smile. Each of them had needed to come in after they'd returned, for a brief questioning period in order to tell what had happened for more solid proof on Georgina Sparks' doings over sea.

The shot they had heard while being lowered to the lobby in the hotel elevator had been Georgina's poor excuse to shoot the policemen crowding in on her. The scream that followed was due to her attempt to get away from their clutching hands on her arms on the way out of the suite. Everyone was still shaken up from everything that had happened and glad that it was summer so lack of school would not crowd in on their senses and worries. Now Georgina, Ben, and Amelia waited in a prison cell down the hall, away from the public and unable to escape. Both Ben had quite obviously been fired from their prior positions in the Bass household. Both were being charged as accomplices of Georgina Sparks.

"And the bomb?" she asked, playfully leaning forward on the counter. "How in the world did those policeman figure that out so we all didn't burst into flames and the hotel into ashes?"

The policeman smirked. "There are some things even I don't know, Miss Waldorf."

She echoed his smirk on her own face. "And here I thought you knew everything."

Before the policeman could respond with a quick, witty remark or a simple, polite response, two familiar figures came up to the desk, ignorant of Blair, and asked where Georgina Sparks was. They looked angry as hell and Blair recognized them with the tone of their voices and the figures she saw passing on down the hallway the policeman had directed them to.

"Georgina's parents," Blair said breathlessly.

"Yes, indeed," the policeman remarked. "Poor souls," he shook his head, instantly shifting into serious mode as he looked after them finally approaching the prison cell holding the three individuals. "Nobody wants to be told that their precious little angel has committed such a heinous crime."

Blair nodded politely, though rolled her eyes before he turned back around.

_That bitch had never been a little angel._

* * *

It felt as though she had swallowed her stomach and it had gotten caught on the way down. She couldn't speak and she found herself clearing her throat far too many times as she made her way to the Humphrey loft, through the front door past a politely smiling Rufus and Jenny, and stood impatiently and very uneasily in front of Dan Humphrey's bedroom door.

"It's open," she heard him say when she knocked lightly on the door. She didn't think anything could have possibly lasted longer in the space of thirteen seconds than the time it took her to open the door just a crack and catch Dan's gaze admitting her further into the room.

"You said you…wanted to talk," she said quietly, her eyes flitting away from his brown orbs on many occasions. He said nothing for a few long moments and so finally she stilled her slightly shaking self and looked him in the eyes.

"Yes," he confirmed, sitting up from the lying position he had held on his bed. Slowly, hesitantly, Vanessa came around and sat on the opposite side of the bed, crossing her legs in front of her – Indian style. "Vanessa…" he looked down at his hands fiddling in front of him. "I was very mad, and pretty shocked at you for causing so much trouble…" he paused, clearing his throat, "…before."

He looked up at her, saw her nodding her head, and knew she didn't know what to say. "Now that everything's fine," he said, "I'm not really sure where to pick up." Their eyes met. "I feel like a lot has changed between us."

She swallowed hard, knowing she would have to respond sometime soon if this conversation was going to go anywhere. "A lot has changed with me," she said, making it clear that she had seen nothing evolving on his end and that she was fully to blame for everything that happened. "I acted completely out of character with the whole…Georgina incident. My mind was swimming and…" she shook her head. Her eyes locked back with his, tears resting in her eyes. "I'm sorry. For everything."

Dan watched her, blinked, and then leaned back against the wall behind him. "Serena came to see me today," he said after a couple _too-long_ moments. Vanessa mouth fell into an "oh" realization and she watched him intently.

"I still love her, Vanessa."

She nodded, her head falling back to the blankets on the bed where they had seemed to found a home in the last few minutes.

"I don't think I fully realized the huge mistake I had made in breaking up with her until all of this…" his hands flew about in a slow gesture, "happened," he sighed.

The continued silence was killing her. It hurt so bad to hear him talk of his love for Serena. It was worse somehow than seeing them kiss at the Masquerade Ball earlier in the year. She had recovered quickly from that incident, at least on the outside. Being his friend was more important in the long run and she wouldn't sacrifice that for anything. Their friendship had thus far lasted a life time. She wondered if he was about to tell her that nothing could ever happen between them, or at least not until he was over Serena, that she would only ever be a rebound if they just jumped into a romantic relationship. She knew the conversation itself would keep them at a distance from each other at least for a few days, simply in need for recovery.

"But…" his head fell into his hand, "when…" he smiled softly and she was beyond confused, "when I realized that what Georgina was saying was in fact true, my heart skipped a beat," he laughed at himself, shaking his head and then finally looking back at Vanessa who was silent and still as ever. "I don't think I ever really got over you," he said.

Her lips parted, but she could not find the strength in her to speak up.

"Vanessa. Say something," he requested when the silence became unbearable, at least for him.

"Uh," she managed, trying desperately to make her mouth and her limited brain waves connect. "What about Serena?" she asked, her eyebrows fused. "You said you still loved her. What is stopping the two of you from getting back together."

He sighed and his mouth hung open for awhile before anything understandable really came out. "She still loves me too, but uh…" he wrapped his hand briefly around his jaw, "she likes Nate," he said, his eyes looking back again at Vanessa whose head had just reared back. He wondered if this was be a blow to her, if she still had an interest in Nate like he thought he might in her.

"Wow," was all that she could say. He saw that she blinked rapidly and started shaking her head. He wondered if she was going to cry. "That…was probably expected," she sarcastically laughed to herself. Her eyes met Dan's again after awhile and she reached out her hand and shook her head to tell him it wasn't nearly as bad as he probably thought.

"I liked him, Dan. I really did. Like…a lot," she widened her eyes, smile brimming. "But," she closed her eyes for a spare moment, "I like you a lot more," she took a deep breath, "and I don't want to be too late for it again."

He breathed in and out unevenly and finally snapped his mouth shut. The hand that she had stretched out in front of her to calm him now rested on the bed between them. He reached out and took it in one of his hands, appearing to be analyzing it as if seeing it for the first time. Vanessa watched him, mesmerized and looking sentimental as if the action wasn't random or strange at all.

"Take it slow?" he asked, finally looked up at her.

"Dan," she began, dragging her hand slowly back to her, though not so far away that he couldn't reach it. "You're still in love with Serena, and all this…" she gestured about the room with her arms, "that just happened. Well," she shrugged, "maybe it changed your view on things, maybe what you think now might not necessarily be what you'll think a month from now." Her gaze caught his again.

"The same could apply for you," he said simply. She nodded, acknowledging the fact.

"I know," her head drifted to her lap again.

"Vanessa," he scooted closer to her, "I've spent all day thinking about this. Serena came here this morning." She looked intently at him, studying his eyes. "I wouldn't propose something like this if I wasn't sure I wanted to go through with it."

Her lips parted gently and she could not turn away. "Okay," she said softly, trying to contain the happiness that had instantly flooded through her at his words and her acceptance. The lump in her throat was gone.

* * *

Nate looked worriedly at his cell just snapped shut in his hand. He hadn't been real attached to Vanessa Abrams, but there had definitely been a spark and for a moment he missed what could have blossomed into something beautiful and worth living. When everything was all said and done though, and all the individuals involved had gotten safely home and slept well with Georgina, Amelia, and Ben locked up for good, the answer was so clear.

"Nate?" her pretty blonde head poked in through the door. He looked up at her and smiled. His eyebrows rows in way of asking her to finish and her lips parted, sliding into a smile as well. "Were you going to stay for lunch?" she asked, coming all the way in to the room and leaning on the doorway.

"Yep," he responded. She bit her lip tenderly and he found his eyes drawn to it. Whatever had happened throughout the year, his love for Serena had remained, like a bleeding wound that never quite healed.

Before he realized it, she had walked towards him and held out her hand for him to stand to his feet. He chuckled a little before taking it and standing with her, unable to take his gaze away from her. At moments like this he wondered why it had been such a hard decision to begin with.

"You're sure about this?" he asked, suddenly so very concerned. He had come over talked with her about how they felt for each other, that there was no doubt how he felt even though there had been a little in the beginning. Serena admitted to having felt something for awhile but having buried it since the beginning. She couldn't tell if it had ever been love because she was afraid of the hurt and the pain and the guilt of the betrayal that would follow if she had actually been in love with Nate Archibald.

She nodded. "Mmhmm, definitely," she said, her teeth back on his lower lip. She noticed that his eyes dropped to her lips and she pulled his head towards her and kissed him gently on the lips. He sunk into her, sighing into her mouth contently even after they had parted. He wasn't as aggressive as she knew he would have been if the situation they'd just come out of wasn't still rattling all of their systems. That on top of Serena just ending her relationship with Dan and still being in love with him made him very nervous. Like maybe they needed more time.

"I'm ready," she said, reassuring him. He smiled softly in response, loving that she had sensed his true thoughts regardless of his actions and sounds. Her hands drifted back to her side and she pulled him out the door and into the kitchen.

"Nate," Bart gave him a curt nod, greeting him as they all sat down to lunch. He, Lily, and Eric hadn't been home till recently and though they had not expected Nate to be there with Serena when they arrived, Lily smirked at his appearance, murmuring something about how she knew it would happen sooner or later. Bart was confused, but Eric just rolled his eyes, knowing all too well what she was talking about.

"Mr. Bass," Nate nodded back, heading towards the table while Serena took a brief trip to greet her brother, all giggles and smiles. He found himself looking at her in the most love-struck way a person could. He felt the heated gazes on the side of his face as he did so and immediately started to sweat. He turned back to look at Bart and Lily who quite obviously had just turned their faces away from him on purpose, trying to hide their smiles.

"Congratulations," Serena said, slipping her hand back into Nate's as she returned to the table. "You got Bart Bass to smile," she smirked. He laughed and they took their seats. Bart avoided their gazes for the next few minutes, almost afraid he would blush.

* * *

He knew it was her on the other side of the door before he even got up to open it. Despite the events that had happened over the last week, he told his father he needed some alone time in his suite, and though he didn't really think it'd be any different, it was accepted, and just after dinner the night before, he treated back to his suite. It was more of a home than any place his father would ever be. They had taken the steps to start something quite beneficial for both ends – a _healthy_ father and son relationship. But that was all there, _baby_ steps. It would take some time for him to shift over. He imagined it would take his father time as well. None of the transaction had anything much to do with Blair, except for the fact that she had come to him after he'd brushed her off countless times. Somehow he had known she would be the first to seek him out, out of anybody.

"Blair," he said indifferently, knowing she had come for closure. It was what he had expected. He had been the one to insist on their romantic relations anyways. There would be no reason for her to push for something she had only recently come to accept.

What he hadn't expected was the lost eyes that greeted him as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. His lips parted and he watched as she slowly breathed in and out, her lips quivering just a little. Her façade of being all put together was completely gone. She hadn't planned on pretending everything was fine and just getting to the heart of the matter at the last second – perhaps amongst screams and flying objects. _She wanted to fix things_, he realized. _Now he was more scared than ever._

"Uh, come in," he said, opening the door further and stepping to the side so she could walk in.

"It looks the same," she said, going to sit on the couch. Memories flooded through her of the week before they'd – _she'd_ – left for their trip to Tuscany, though neither of them actually got there.

"Hmm?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and moving his stance to some feet away from here, directing all his attention on her. He knew exactly what she was referring to, but he could think of nothing to fill up the silence. He didn't want to hurt her by bringing up raw memories and perhaps turning something witty into an insult.

Her lips parted and her jaw dropped a little farther when he seemed oblivious to what she was reminiscing on. Her mouth snapped shut and her eyes settled on the carpet for awhile. "It looks the same," she repeated, "as it was before."

He nodded in agreement with her words, feeling like an absolute idiot for how he was letting the process go on. "Blair," he finally said, taking a hesitant step towards her, "I know what you came here for."

Her eyes flicked up to his. "And what is that?" she asked.

He sighed, his eyes almost squinting as they zoomed in on her, taking in her every feature as he analyzed her to the core. "You want closure," he said, simply. She blinked, standing to her feet just a foot or so in front of him.

"Chuck, what's on this tape?" she asked, completely ignoring his explanation to her appearance as she pulled out the cassette she'd brought with her.

_She just wasn't giving up on this, was she?_

His eyes zeroed in on the cassette. Finally he pulled one his hands out of his pants' pocket and gently grabbed hold of the tape. He felt a sweat might be developing on his forehead, because he could feel her eyes penetrating through him. She wanted to know his thoughts as much as he did hers. For the first time of almost ever neither knew what the other was thinking or really wanted. It gave the effect of shaky and desperate. They hated it, but did nothing to tear their thoughts away from the current actions each of them were doing.

She watched him as he walked across the room and tossed the tape into the trashcan. Her eyes narrowed and when he finally looked up to her, the anger that she hadn't expected to come was boiling over. Before she could speak though, he beat her to it.

"Garbage. That's what's on it, Blair."

"Did you sleep with her?" she asked, her hands itching to make a stance by landing on either one or both of her hips. They stayed at her sides though, unnoticeably shaking.

"No," he said.

"Then, why—?"  
"Because, Blair," he said, quickly coming over to her and taking her hands in his own. "I did…other things to her, things it would hurt you to see."

Her eyes watered.

_This was it_, he told himself. This was when she would officially break it off, because in her mind he had cheated on her. He knew it was unacceptable, regardless of the good intentions he had had in the matter. _The ends did __**not**__ justify the means_, he decided.

"I don't…care," a gasping breath slipped through.

"What?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

"You kissed her," she said.

"Many times," he said, his voice rising as if she hadn't gotten the point. Her eyes closed in acknowledgement. It was as if finally she understood the weight he felt the need to stand under. Kisses were what she had hoped for Nate to admit the night he told her he had slept with Serena six months earlier. But it hadn't just been a kiss.

"But you _just_ kissed her."

"Blair," his eyes narrowed, sure she didn't understand how awful what he had done actually was. She put a hand over his lips though to quiet him and poured her gaze into him. He wanted to speak again, but he had lost all ability to speak and found himself unable to resist when she replaced her hand with her lips and kissed him.

He responded for a moment before pulling away. "Blair," he breathed, his mind blurring with the intoxicating scent that could only ever have Blair Waldorf written all over it.

"Tell me why you were upset, Chuck," she begged. His eyes flicked to hers, his brain waves finally becoming active again. _Now, this was it,_ he knew. Nothing else scared him more than showing the fears he held themselves, even to Blair Waldorf. He had un-caged his fear of unworthiness in kissing Amelia already. _Wasn't one secret enough for the day?_

He cleared his throat and put a safe distance between them, yet still not drifting far. He dropped her hands where they dangled at her sides. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes concerned when he looked back at them. He was afraid to look for too long in case he would fall into their depths and never come out again.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" she said more than asked. He was silent, his eyes glued to the floor. She stepped towards him, closing up the distance between them again. He stepped back a little, in more control this time, but not nearly enough for her to back off.

"Chuck, just tell me," she pleaded. "You can't just be there for me to lean on. This relationship is a two way streak," she sighed. "I know how hard it is to trust someone, believe me, but—" he held up his hand to cut her off. Her mouth snapped shut.

Her eyes were the deepest pools he'd ever seen, but for all their concern and hope and willingness to help, he could not let her in. He couldn't tell her how off he had felt from the moment they had reunited in Sweden. Just a few moments ago she'd justified his kissing Amelia and he almost felt like even if she didn't think he needed forgiving, he could forgive himself. The bubbling anger he'd held for her not trusting him that Georgina had something to hold over him bothered him too. He had had no idea that there had been a tape going in the room where he seduced Amelia in order to get out and away from _The Palace_. And even though he knew she was aware of how desperately hard he worked to impress his father, she didn't know the depth of how far it went and the pain that had practically scarred him at his father's admission to his son's failure, regardless of the kind proud words he'd received from him some days ago. He couldn't make himself pour out his heart to her. It had surprised him alone when he'd gotten so desperate for her and been insistent on butterflies the morning after he'd taken her virginity – or rather been _given_.

"There's nothing to tell," he said. Her eyes narrowed.

"So that's just it then? You're deciding, knowing that I won't be in a relationship where _both_ parties lean on each other, to just…not tell me?"

He swallowed hard, holding his tongue for another moment to gather his thoughts, though in truth a million moments wouldn't have given him enough time to think things through to completion. He turned away from her, felt pain when she stepped away from him. He had decided throughout the last few days that they were over, that they would just need one more conversation – for Blair's sake – to close everything off for good. Blair had told him things were over for good before once. He figured it would be for their own good that he backed out sooner rather than later. He figured he'd probably end up treating her worse than Nate ever did. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself for that.

She scoffed, taking his silence as the answer to her question. "Fine, Chuck," she spat. She gathered her purse farther up her shoulder as a way to distract herself from her tears. She wasn't crying yet and she appeared to be stone cold and as uncaring as he could have possibly imagined her before.

"I'll just…let myself out," she said angrily. He didn't stop her as she stomped towards the door, but she turned just before it to take one final look at him. "For someone who fought so hard for me, you're pretty quick to let it go."

The door slammed as she left and his eyes closed in the pain and guilt that now surrounded him. He walked to the couch and sat on the opposite side of it, scared of sitting where she had been, knowing that he'd still be able to smell her and even worse, that he'd be able to taste her kiss still fresh on his lips.

Blair crumbled less than two feet outside of his suite. She had taken two large, long steps with her three inch heels and then just collapsed onto the floor. Her whole world was caving in around her. She knew something wasn't right between the two of them. She made out to fix it, to fix _them_, hadn't known what had happened that had made them so _wrong_. It killed her that she couldn't fix it and she half-contemplated getting up and storming back in until he told her everything. She didn't want to go back on her requirements, but it was the closest she ever got…just to be with him. She couldn't shake her feelings off for him anymore. It was as if Nate had never existed. Her rapidly beating heart told her that she loved Chuck, that she was meant for him, that she _needed_ him. The fact that it was all over even when he had risked his neck to save her overseas and she had forgiven him for whatever minor offense he felt guilty for just didn't make sense to her and chilled her to the bone. Her eyes squeezed shut and she sobbed, trying her very best to stifle any involuntary sounds that might try and creep past her lips.

Less than five minutes later the door of Chuck's suite swung open. Blair felt a presence but was too swept up in her emotions that she didn't hear Chuck calling out to her, seemingly oblivious that she was only one suite's space away from him. In seconds he was in front of her bent knees, looking as desperate as ever.

"Blair," he said earnestly, waiting for her eyes to meet his. "I love you," he said. Her sobs got choked up in her shock and she stared wide eyed into his hazel brown eyes, unable to comprehend what he had just said. He shook his head, sighed briefly, and then pursed his lips momentarily, mentally trying to quicken his recovery so he could just pour everything out. He'd been an idiot to let her go when she wanted him so badly. He'd never known anyone like Blair Waldorf, and if taking a risk was what she needed from him, then he would step out there without thinking twice. At least then she wouldn't be able to accuse him of not even trying. Because she _was_ right. He _had_ been fighting for her from the very beginning. And Chuck Bass does _not_ give up.

"I didn't like that you didn't trust me when I told you Georgina held nothing against me, even if that happened to be the case. I didn't know it, I swear I didn't. I felt very unsettled by your sudden forgiveness over what I thought that was the worst thing I could have possibly done, next to actually cheating itself. My relationship with my father is horrible. He thinks I'm a screw-up, that I can't do anything right, and I'll never amount to what he wants to see in a son. He did say he was proud of me when we finally got back the other night, but it doesn't fix everything, not right away. And," he sighed, preparing his final statement, "I'm scared to death of messing up with you. If I ever hurt you, I…I could never forgive myself.

He exhaled, surprised at how relieved he felt for getting all of the weighted feelings off his chest. The time between when he finished and when Blair finally responded was the longest twenty-nine seconds of his life. His breathing was heavy and all she had done was blink.

"You love me?" she asked, a small smile crossing his face.

_Oh, right_, he cursed himself. He hadn't thought twice before saying it and he didn't even know where she stood on the matter. He had never told anyone that he loved them, not his father, not Nate, no one. If Blair didn't love him he would take the blow horribly, even if they did end up getting back together. He swallowed hard, also stressed over the fact that she hadn't responded to _anything else_ he had said.

"Yes," he nodded breathlessly. For all the terrifying thoughts spinning through his head, the smile on her face could not keep him from responding. With shaking hands she reached up to cup his face, tears spilling out of her eyes as she stroked the sides of his face and twisted some of her fingers into the hair closest to his face.

"I love you too," she bit her bottom lip softly, adoringly looking up at him. By the look in her eyes, he knew she was bound to go on and address the other matters he had said, but suddenly it didn't matter and he couldn't wait another second. He nearly jumped onto her in an effort to get himself closer. His lips pressed deep into her own and her hands plunged deeper into his hair, grasping desperately at the back of his head and neck. Their tongues twisted deep inside the chasms of their mouths and Blair didn't think she could breathe. Both kissed like their lives depended on it, grasping at anything on each other that would pull the other closer. Soon they were backed against the wall and standing on the corner of the doorway to his suite. Finally Blair pulled away, hardly noticing how heavy they were breathing and how much had happened in the space of a minute, if that long.

"Thank-you," she said, a breathless smile spreading across her face, soon reflected on his own. He nodded, leaning his head on her forehead. She waited until her breaths had returned to a normal pace and then looked back in his eyes.

"Never again," she said, shaking her head and unknowingly slipping a giggle through. He cracked a grin.

"Two-way street," he said. She smiled again and her eyes lowered to his lips at which before she could think twice he was kissing her with again and again. Reaching out blindly in front of him, he found the door handle and twisted it pushing both of them into the hotel suite and in regular-fashion closing the door behind them.

**Well, well, Upper East Siders, a sweet end to a crazy week. It's been quite a wild ride, but all's well that ends well, and the couples are together that should be. Didn't we know they'd be all along? Well, I did, but…I know everything.**

**-Gossip Girl**

* * *

_**FIN.**_

* * *

A/N: Epilogue to come! Please review! ;P


	23. Epilogue

A/N: And here is the epilogue. Nothing too special, I'm thinking it'll be rather short actually. Try and enjoy it though, lol. And be sure to review! =D "Unable" will be the next story I write, or continue writing up at least, heh. Then, I will finally be starting a new multi-chaptered (more than three, heh) fic! Be sure to R & R it! =D

*I own nothing

* * *

**Epilogue—**

Lounging on their high-class tanning chairs, Chuck, Blair, Nate, and Serena relaxed on a beach in the Hamptons. Over the summer each of their relationships had blossomed, friendship and otherwise. They were as happy as clams and it was written all over their faces when they looked at each other and it didn't matter in the least when people stopped and stared, especially at Chuck and Blair. They didn't meet a single individual who found their union strange and undoubtedly long-lasting. Chuck swore there was a 'how many more days will he make it' tracker on Gossip Girl for his durability to be with Blair. They had lasted three months thus far though, and he wasn't worried. After what happened in the beginning of the summer, and all throughout the year as well, he wasn't going to let her out of his sight as well.

In regards to Nate and Serena, their love blossomed in a matter of weeks, along with that of Dan and Vanessa. The fabulous four hardly saw the Brooklynites, but when they did there was always a twinkle in their eyes and a smirk on their face. It felt as though there would always be a bond between the six of them, and regardless of how Chuck and Blair took every opportunity to impose their status of wealth on them, the insults had lessened into jests and teasing. Nate and Serena were careful not to point this out, no matter how much they wanted to.

"This is our last weekend before school starts…"

Blair groaned.

"Nate," Chuck interrupted before more could be said, "It'd be in your best interest to not bring up that topic again in the near future," he said, his eyes closed beneath his dark shades, and his thumb rubbing soft circles on the encased hand of Blair Waldorf lying beside him.

Nate and Serena turned to each other with raised eyebrows and an amused expression on their faces. Their eyes lit up brightly when they noticed two new dark-haired individuals pass by them, their hands clasped. The lips of Dan and Vanessa quirked upwards and the sight of the content blondes, just as they had done at every greeting throughout the summer.

"Abrams."

"Humphrey."

The passersby halted at the neutral greeting coming from a supposedly eyes-closed Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass. Dan was halfway to returning the greeting when he both heard and saw the yawn of Blair Waldorf and the repositioning of Chuck Bass in their comfortable chairs. Vanessa gripped his arm softly and the two nodded briefly towards Nate and Serena who stifled a giggle after they had left, returning their gaze back to their oblivious brunette friends in a world of their own, both with themselves and each other.

Blair lifted her sunglasses to atop her head nearly an hour later and looked over at her sleeping Chuck. She smiled, and on seeing Nate and Serena having had vanished into the ocean to play in the nearly ice-cold waters, she got up from her seat and crawled onto Chuck's lap, kissing him warmly on his lips.

At the pressure on his legs, Chuck shifted, moaning in disappointment of how he had been awakened. But the stifled noise curved into a pleasured sound as he was greeted with his girlfriend's sweet lips. His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his sunglasses off his head and set them on the glass table beside them.

"Hey beautiful," he murmured, his fingers tracing lines around the edges of her face and threading through the silk strands of her hair. She bit her bottom lip softly, her deep brown eyes brimming with joy. He always brought about the most amazing feelings inside of her.

"I love you," she whispered. His grinned from ear to ear, his eyes also exploding with an amazing, beautiful happiness. He tugged at her neck gently and pulled her towards him, kissing her again.

"I love you too."

She smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck, decorating his jaw line and neck with a few more of her moist kisses. She sighed contently and settled her body weight fully onto him, nuzzling her face into his neck. His hands came around, almost instinctively, and drew soft circles on her lower back. He came dangerously close to untying the thin ropes on her bikini bottom. Her eyes went wide when she felt his fingers approaching and immediately she sat up and smacked his prying fingers away, only to witness the innocent look seemingly attached to his face when she looked back at him. Her eyes looked condescending for a moment before they softened and her lips turned up at the corner into a smirk.

In a way of possible taunting, he thought, she climbed off of him and stood to her feet. His lips parted in a clear upset feeling at the emptiness now looming over his lap. She challenged him with her hands on her hips directly and his eyes darkened with desire. She almost faltered. He rose from his seat and kissed her soundly on lips, his hands clutching at her now bare hips, her hands now swept up in his hair.

They were still kissing intensely when Nate and Serena started heading back about ten minutes later. The blondes took one look at Chuck and Blair and at each other and decided they would come back later. Whether tolerable or not, Chuck and Blair's ever constant display of public affection was not exactly what they wanted to be present around on the last Saturday of summer vacation.

"Their poor future children," Serena sighed, shaking her head. Nate nodded, almost scoffing at the reality and horror the inevitable future Bass children would face.

"They'll be scarred for years."

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Review! ;p And thanks so much for those of you who stuck around for these two long years! XD You _are_ amazing. Lol.


End file.
